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Novartis
how a leader in healthcare was created out of
Ciba, Geigy and Sandoz
Novartis
how a leader in healthcare was created out of
Ciba, Geigy and Sandoz
Foreword Joerg Reinhardt
Conception and text Walter Dettwiler
Contributions Philipp Gafner and Carole Billod
Contents
Foreword Joerg Reinhardt 5
1 Ready for lift-off
The founding of Basel’s dye factories | 1859–1908 9
The golden age of dyestuff labels 24
2 Export and expansion
International and innovative from the outset | 1881–1914 29
3 The First World War
Holding firm in troubled times | 1914–1918 43
Ergot alkaloids 50
4 The interwar period
A boom in pharmaceuticals | 1918–1939 53
Early hormone products from CIBA 74
Calcium-Sandoz 76
5 The Second World War and the early postwar period
Stagnation and modernization | 1939–1951 81
The battle against malaria 92
6 Two decades of growth
Global expansion and a marriage | 1950–1970 97
Geigy design 116
Tofranil 120
Voltaren 122
7
First one merger, then another
Focus instead of diversification | 1970–1996 125
Sandimmune 140
Tegretol and Trileptal 142
8Novartis
From life sciences to focus on healthcare | 1996–2013 145
Diovan 160
Gleevec | Glivec 162
Bexsero 164
The Novartis Campus 166
Appendix
Prix Galien 173
Sources and Bibliography 174
Index 176
Photo credits 188
Joerg Reinhardt
When Novartis was founded in 1996, it was the starting point of an entre-
Chairman of the Board of Directors
preneurial endeavor that helped form one of the world’s leading healthcare companies. But the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz also symbolized
the historical peak of countless scientific and commercial achievements
that stretch back more than 150 years.
Without these past efforts Novartis would be unthinkable. When our
forerunners started out in the dyestuff business in the 19th century, there
was little sign that their enterprises would culminate in the creation of one
of the world’s largest healthcare companies. Yet the determined actions of
the founding fathers of CIBA, Sandoz and Geigy, as well as the work of generations of successors, laid the foundation for a unique success story.
Although much of the old industrial heritage has disappeared since
the first factories were built in Basel along the banks of the river Rhine, the
values of our forerunners have survived. These principles, which still guide
our global workforce today, have become part of our identity and are expressed in our unfaltering dedication to the pursuit of innovation in order to
address as-yet unmet medical needs.
As our corporate history shows, the leaders of our predecessor com-
panies had the talent to react quickly to economic swings, and they cultivated an open and inquisitive attitude from the start. Their curiosity and longterm vision prompted them to venture beyond the borders of Switzerland
early on, founding outlets as far away as Russia and the United States more
than a century ago. These outlets would later become the launch pads for
the internationalization of Novartis.
But history is never a seamless chain of events. More often than not
the past is broken up by sudden reverses and unexpected failures. This
holds true for our predecessor companies too. When the dyestuff business
lost momentum, its leaders were forced to look for more promising business areas, even in the face of world wars and economic crises. Their decision to step up their fledgling chemical production and venture into the nascent pharmaceutical sector was fraught with high risks and was hit by
repeated setbacks. But thanks to their determination, stamina and dedication, they eventually succeeded in building the basis for a world-renowned
pharmaceutical hub that today helps develop therapies for millions of
people to live longer and healthier lives.
Many of the values that were developed during the long history of
our predecessor companies have become part of the DNA of Novartis. Innovation and entrepreneurial resolve were crucial in building a patientcentered healthcare organization with state-of-the-art research facilities
that span the globe and in which thousands of talented scientists work toward developing effective therapies and medicines. The same lucidity also
led Novartis to embark on its strategy of focused diversification, which
reflects our conviction that healthcare companies need to be flexible
and able to respond quickly to a fast-changing economic, demographic
and regulatory environment.
5
Thanks to this determined focus on innovation, Novartis has been
able to launch breakthrough therapies such as cancer medicine Gleevec/
Glivec, hypertension treatment Diovan and multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya,
to name but a few major medical achievements. At the same time the diligent expansion of our research and development facilities and the gradual
extension into other healthcare areas such as generics and eye care have
produced excellent results. Determination, courage and an unwavering focus on progress also helped Novartis foster this culture of innovation, which
today pulses throughout the company and is most visibly expressed in our
research and knowledge campuses in Basel, Cambridge (Massachusetts,
USA), Shanghai and East Hanover (New Jersey, USA). There, a unique work
atmosphere furthers and supports creative collaboration, inspiring and
motivating our associates to seek novel solutions that promise to change
the practice of medicine.
The ability of Novartis to provide reliable, high-quality medicines to
more than one billion patients every year is the result of the collective effort of generations of associates who were and are dedicated to putting
their work to the service of people in need. This book pays tribute to some
of the great achievements of the past. And even though many important
milestones remain unmentioned, it is clear that every single associate has
contributed to the success of Novartis during the long history of this company. These achievements fill me with pride and gratitude to those who
were and are part of this great endeavor and make me confident that we
will successfully continue our mission of caring and curing in the future.
January 2014
6
Foreword
1
Ready for lift-off
The founding of Basel’s dye factories
1859–1908
Europe first shone in artificial night-light 200 years ago. Instead of candles,
gas now lit the houses of the well-off. Gas lights soon lit up the streets of
the towns as well. The gas was obtained from coal, which produced large
quantities of unpleasant, smelly tar as waste: this was tipped into rivers,
resulting in severe environmental pollution. In 1834, the German chemist
Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge investigated the possible uses of tar and discovered aniline in the process. In 1856, the English chemistry student William Henry Perkin conducted experiments with this colorless, oily liquid. He
was hoping to produce synthetic quinine, for this efficacious antimalarial
agent was very much in demand in the British colonies. Instead of white
quinine, Perkin obtained an almost black product, from which he isolated a
substance that dyed silk a violet color. He named it mauveine, after the
French for mallow blossom. Perkin had his invention patented and founded
a production site close to London with support from his family. But mauveine did not remain the only synthetic dye for long. In 1858, the French
chemist Emanuel Verguin discovered aniline red. He sold his process to the
silk dyeworks of Renard frères et Franc in Lyon (France). They patented the
new dye, named fuchsine after the red blooms of the fuchsia, and started
production. Fuchsine was easier to manufacture than mauveine and it was
more productive and versatile. The product triggered a veritable gold rush:
dyers and dye merchants, manufacturers and chemists tried to discover
similar substances or at least to acquire formulations. Compared with the
natural vegetable, animal or mineral-based dyes used since ancient times,
these synthetic dyestuffs allowed greater fastness, lower costs and also
the possibility of producing textiles in every conceivable shade of color.
CIBA Just three years after the discovery of mauveine, aniline dyes were
being produced in Basel. In 1840, Alexandre Clavel (1805–1873) from Lyon
(France) had taken over a silk dyeworks in Lesser Basel. Thanks to family
connections with Renard frères et Franc he was able to acquire the license
for the fuchsine process. He immediately began to produce dyes in a laboratory close to the dyeworks. Due to increasing complaints from the population about the pollutant emissions, production was forbidden in 1863. The
operation had to be moved outside the city. Clavel built his new factory in
what was then a rural district on Klybeckstrasse alongside the Rhine. In
1873, he sold this to the chemist Robert Bindschedler (1844–1901) and the
businessman Albert Busch (1836–1884). The new owners quickly expanded
the company: within a year the workforce of about 30 people had more
than doubled. In 1884, Bindschedler & Busch became a modern corporation. It now called itself Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie in Basel. The
abbreviated form CIBA, which was initially used only for products, became
the official company name in 1945.
Basler Chemische Fabrik In 1892, Robert Bindschedler left CIBA, which
he had first run as a Director from 1884–1889 and subsequently helped to
shape as a member of the Board of Directors. In 1893, he founded Basler
Chemische Fabrik (BCF) in Kleinhüningen, also on the Lesser Basel side of
10
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1859 – 1908
the Rhine. This company became a listed stock corporation in 1898 with
capital of 1.5 million Swiss francs. Six years later, BCF acquired an additional production facility in Monthey (Canton of Valais, Switzerland). In
1908, the Board of Directors of BCF began to consider a merger with CIBA.
Initial negotiations began in June, and just six weeks later representatives
of both companies signed the merger agreement. According to this agreement, BCF merged retrospectively into CIBA from July 1, 1908. In November
of the same year the General Meeting of BCF approved the merger. For
every five BCF shares held, the shareholders received three CIBA shares. To
finance the takeover, CIBA had to increase its share capital by 3.5 million
Swiss francs. With the merger, the patents held by BCF were transferred to
CIBA.
J.R. Geigy The trading company J.R. Geigy was founded in 1758. It traded raw
materials used in the manufacture of dyestuffs or medicinal products. In
the 1830s the company started to manufacture natural dyes itself, initially on an artisanal, then from 1859 on an industrial basis. In Lesser Basel,
Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian (1830–1917) built a so-called extract factory
with a steam boiler and production plant where dyewood was milled and
ground to extract the dyestuffs. In 1860, Geigy-Merian handed the extract
factory over to the authorized signatory of Geigy, Johann Jakob Müller-Pack
(1825–1899), who had founded his own company, J.J. Müller & Cie., in the
same year. Immediately after the takeover, Müller-Pack expanded the small
plant and began to produce synthetic dyes. In 1862 he bought a plot of land
on Rosentalmatten to build a second factory there. At the Great London Exposition of 1862, the dyes of J.J. Müller & Cie. proved a sensation. But the
meteoric rise of the company came to an abrupt end: in 1864 J.J. Müller & Cie.
lost a lawsuit over the contamination of groundwater and was forced into
bankruptcy. Geigy-Merian bought back the business, including the extract
factory and the aniline production. In 1901 it became a corporation. Most of
the stock stayed in the hands of the Geigy family, however.
Gerber & Uhlmann A few months after fuchsine was patented by Verguin,
the Alsatian Jean Gerber-Keller (1809–1884) and his son Armand Gerber
(1837–1886) discovered a new red dye. They called it azalein. Gerber-Keller
wanted to have it patented. The French patent law of 1844 protected the
end product, but not the process. Since azalein was similar to the fuchsine
of Renard frères et Franc in color, Gerber lost a court case brought by the
Lyon manufacturers. In 1862, the two Gerbers came to Switzerland and
joined the dyeworks of Gaspard Dollfus (1812–1889) as chemists. In 1864,
Armand Gerber set up in business himself, founding Gerber & Uhlmann on
Klybeckstrasse together with a businessman named Uhlmann. The company was bought by CIBA in 1898.
Durand & Huguenin Louis Durand (1837–1901) was chief chemist with Société de la Fuchsine in Lyon (France) prior to emigrating to Basel. From 1866 to
1870 he worked in Clavel’s dye factory. In 1871 he took over a chemical
factory in the north-west of the city. This had been founded by Gaspard
11
Dollfus, the builder and leaseholder of the Basel gasworks, in 1860. From
1872 Durand’s brother-in-law, Daniel Edouard Huguenin (1845–1899), also
held a stake in the company.
Sandoz Alfred Kern (1850–1893), an extremely successful chemist, left
CIBA at the end of 1884 due to differences of opinion on the use of his patents. Kern met with the wealthy businessman Edouard-Constant Sandoz
(1853–1928) who, as authorized signatory for Durand & Huguenin, was prohibited from holding the interest he wanted in the company. The two of
them founded Chemische Fabrik Kern & Sandoz as a general partnership in
1886. Like other dye factories, the new company was located outside the
residential area of the time, on about 11,000 square metres of land right
next to Durand & Huguenin and the municipal gasworks. In 1895, the company was changed to a corporation called Chemische Fabrik vormals Sandoz.
From 1939 it was called Sandoz AG.
Why in Basel? At the end of the 19th century, there were six dye factories in
Basel – an extraordinary concentration! Various factors had contributed to
the attractiveness of the city at different times. A crucial reason why the
chemical industry settled in Basel was its position at the hub of the important textile center of the Upper Rhine. The Basel silk ribbon weaving industry and the numerous textile factories and textile printing works in Alsace
and South Baden needed large quantities of dyes. The first chemical companies obtained their know-how from France. French patent law, which
was not favorable to chemists, prompted many of them to seek their fortune in Basel. Another important factor for the location was the Rhine: it
provided the water that was needed for manufacture, and at the same time
production waste could be easily disposed of in the river. A further advantage was the very good transport links offered by the city: the location on
the elbow of the Rhine and its position on the border favored early connection with the sea and the international railroad network as well as the rapid
development of transportation systems. Trains had been running daily from
Basel to France and Germany since 1853. Furthermore, due to the high
density of chemical and pharmaceutical companies in Basel, there was a
vibrant culture of personnel exchange accompanied by an equally lively
transfer of knowledge and information. And finally, the close proximity of
competitors facilitated innovation.
12
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1859 – 1908
Geigy Basel. Schoren residential colony
with the Bitterli family. 1890s.
Sandoz Basel. Workers’ children
in front of spirit building. Around 1902.
001
Alexandre Clavel (1805 –1873). Around 1860.
Alexandre Clavel from Lyon (France) settled
in Basel in 1838, and in 1840 took over
a silk dyeworks on Rebgasse. The marriage
of his stepdaughter Rosine Henriette Oswald
to silk dyestuff manufacturer Joseph Renard
from Lyon (France) provided Clavel with
invaluable knowledge: he learned how
to manufacture fuchsine (aniline red). From
1859, he became the first person in Switzerland to produce synthetic dyestuffs in
his laboratory. However, Clavel’s activities
slowed down due to complaints about
the pollution his works was causing: in 1863,
the government of Basel prohibited the
production of aniline red and imposed
constraints on the manufacture of other dyestuffs. In response to this, in 1864 Clavel
moved his dyestuff production outside
the city to Klybeckstrasse on the Rhine.
In 1873, he sold his factory to R. Bindschedler
and A. Busch.
002
Management and chemists from the Bindschedler & Busch chemical factory.
Early 1880s.
Robert Bindschedler (1844 –1901) – group
photo: middle row, eighth from left – grew up
with his five siblings in Winterthur (northeastern Switzerland). After completing high
school, he studied chemistry at the Federal
Polytechnic Institute in Zurich. From 1865,
he worked as a chemist, including at Geigy.
In 1871, he joined A. Clavel’s aniline dyestuffs
factory, which he went on to acquire together
with businessman Albert Busch in 1873.
In 1884, Bindschedler & Busch became the
Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie in
Basel (which later became CIBA), and Bindschedler was Director until 1889. In 1893,
Bindschedler founded his own factory, which
he expanded to form Basler Chemische
Fabrik Bindschedler and later Basler
Chemische Fabrik AG. The company merged
with the Gesellschaft für Chemische
Industrie in Basel in 1908. Bindschedler was
awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Zurich in recognition of his
contribution to the chemical industry
in Basel. He was convicted of fraud in 1900
after he had breached a contract with
German company Hoechst governing sales of
antipyrine, and died the following year in
prison.
14
001
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1859 – 1908
002
15
CIBA Basel. Staff of the dyeworks.
1893.
CIBA Basel. Staff of manufacturing sites 38 and 39. 1893.
CIBA Basel. Laboratory staff.
1893.
CIBA Basel. Staff of the Sched-E.
manufacturing site. 1893.
003
Oil painting of the Geigy-Gemuseus family.
1782.
The Basel economy was dominated by
silk ribbon weaving from the 17th to the early
20th century. In addition, there were a
number of hosiery and textile factories.
The second half of the 18th century also saw
developments in Indienne manufacturing
(hand-painted, later industrially printed
cotton fabric). Dyers and textile printers
needed chemicals for their work, which
allowed trade in “dyers’ drugs” to flourish
alongside the textile industry. Several
so-called drug or material goods companies
of this type emerged in Basel in the 18th
century. As well as stocking up with acids
and bases, dyers and printers increasingly
employed ready-to-use dyestuff powders.
In 1758, businessman Johann Rudolf GeigyGemuseus (1733 –1793) opened a drug trading
business: he imported and distributed dried
plant-, animal- and mineral-based raw
materials, which were used for manufacturing
medications and dyestuffs.
004
Bindschedler & Busch company premises.
1879.
16
003
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1859 – 1908
004
17
Geigy Basel. Management,
office workers and chemists
in front of the Bäumlihof,
the Geigy family’s villa in Basel.
1888.
Heinrich Mohn-Imobersteg’s CIBA
agency in Moscow (Russia). 1897.
005
Johann Jakob Müller-Pack (1825–1899).
Around 1862.
Johann Jakob Müller-Pack completed a
commercial apprenticeship in Basel.
In 1856, he was appointed authorized signatory for J.R. Geigy & Heusler and in 1858
he took over management of Geigy’s extract
dyestuff factory. Two years later, MüllerPack acquired the company and began
producing synthetic dyestuffs. When a family
in the neighborhood suffered symptoms
of poisoning, he was sentenced to a fine and
high pension and compensation payments.
The authorities also decided to install pipes
leading to the Rhine and charge the costs
to his company. Müller-Pack left Basel at the
end of 1864 and moved to Paris. There
he tried to exploit or sell his patents and processes in an aniline factory in order to
pay his debts in Basel. He entrusted all his
factories to J.R. Geigy-Merian, who purchased them by auction in 1868. Müller-Pack
was unsuccessful in Paris so he returned
to Basel. He tried to set up a new company
together with a businessman friend, but
it soon went bankrupt. In 1870, Müller-Pack
opened a business for dyestuffs and the
production of technical items in Basel.
006
Prints of aniline blue from a manufacturing
inspection register of J. J. Müller & Cie. 1862.
The prints on wool muslin show various
shades of the aniline blue produced by
J. J. Müller & Cie. They can be found in an
inspection register which is among the
oldest of its kind in the world.
18
005
Ready for lift-off
1859 – 1908
006
19
Geigy Basel. Staff of the extract
factory. April 1896.
CIBA Basel. Dr. Goedecke’s
medical department. July 27, 1906.
Geigy Basel. Chemist.
Around 1909.
007
J.R. Geigy factory buildings at Rosentalmatten. Around 1870.
008
Louis Durand (1837–1901). Around 1900.
Frenchman Louis Durand was head chemist
at Société de la Fuchsine in Lyon (France)
before emigrating to Basel in 1866. From
1866 to 1870, he worked in A. Clavel’s silk
dyeworks and aniline dye factory before
joining F. Petersen & Sichler at Schweizerhalle near Basel. From 1871, he produced
his own synthetic dyestuffs in the former
chemical factory of G. Dollfus in Basel
but was forced to cease production because
he did not have a license. After being
granted a license in 1872, he expanded
the factory together with his brother-inlaw Daniel Edouard Huguenin to form
Durand & Huguenin. Durand withdrew from
the business in 1899.
009
Alfred Kern (1850–1893). Around 1890.
Alfred Kern came from one of the oldest
families in the Swiss town of Bülach near
Zurich. Between 1868 and 1870, he studied
chemistry at the Federal Polytechnic Institute
in Zurich before becoming an assistant
there to Johannes Wislicenus. In 1874, Kern
completed a doctorate at the University of
Giessen (Germany). From 1872 through 1878,
he worked at the Chemische Fabrik Karl
Oehler in Offenbach (Germany) and from 1879
to 1884, he was head of the department for
triphenylmethane dyestuffs at Bindschedler & Busch in Basel. In the early 1880s,
Kern came up with several valuable inventions in the field of technical chemistry.
His process for industrial production of
phosgene and its utilization in the synthesis
of dyestuffs provided a lasting boost to the
color chemistry industry. In 1886, he founded
the chemical company Kern & Sandoz
in Basel together with Edouard-Constant
Sandoz. Thanks to Kern’s dyestuff developments, the company soon enjoyed success.
20
007
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1859 – 1908
008
009
21
Sandoz Basel. Chemists Emil
Walder (left) and Oskar Knecht
during a meal break. July 12, 1910.
Geigy Basel. Fitter Kaspar Voegeli.
1913.
010
Edouard-Constant Sandoz (1853–1928).
Around 1915.
Edouard-Constant Sandoz began a commercial apprenticeship at a raw silk business
in Basel in 1872. In 1878, he transferred to the
aniline dyestuff factory Etablissements
A. Poirier et G. Dalsace in Saint-Denis near
Paris, before returning to Basel in 1880 and
joining the dyestuff factory Durand & Huguenin. In 1885, he acted as intermediary in
the negotiations between Durand & Huguenin
and the chemist Alfred Kern. The aim of
these negotiations was to set up a new dyestuff factory together. When the negotiations
failed, Sandoz and Kern decided to found
their own company. Kern donated his
manufacturing processes to the new company
as “start-up capital” along with 100,000
Swiss francs, while Sandoz contributed
300,000 Swiss francs. After Kern’s sudden
death, Sandoz ran the company on his own.
In 1895, he converted his company into
a stock corporation, taking up the office of
Chairman of the Board, but standing down
after just three months for health reasons.
In 1907, he left the Board of Directors entirely
because he could no longer support the
company’s business policies. As majority
shareholder, however, he continued to
influence the management of the company.
He returned to the Board of Directors
in 1916 and began advising the company on
banking and stock exchange issues. In 1921,
Sandoz gave up his mandate for good.
011
First Kern & Sandoz factory. Around 1890.
In the summer of 1885, Alfred Kern applied to
the Basel government for permission to
build a factory. The application was approved
in September, with construction beginning
later that year and being completed by the
spring of 1886. The factory consisted of one
office building with an attached laboratory,
three linked production sheds and a
boiler building housing a steam engine with a
capacity of 12 horsepower.
22
010
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1859 – 1908
011
23
the golden agei
of dyestuff labelsi
Exchange between East and Westi
Between 1870 and 1900, Geigy, CIBA and Sandoz dyestuffs became established on the Asian market. They lit up the shops of Vadgadi, Bombay (now
Mumbai, India) and Armenian Street in Calcutta (India), and the bazaars of
Shanghai and Kobe (Japan). The Basel companies sent their products to intermediaries and importers. Until the end of the 1930s, the dyestuff packets
flooding into Asia were decorated with beautiful chromolithographs. This
was the golden age of chromolithography in Europe; it spawned the mass
distribution of commercial art as labels for consumer goods.
The chromolithographs from Basel are interesting for two reasons: on
the one hand, they illustrate the beginnings of a kind of advertising which
was specifically targeted at the individual markets of the world. Carefully
crafted and costly to produce, they exercised a seductive effect on the new
customer groups to whom they were introducing the dyestuffs of the Basel
manufacturers. On the other hand, they were the precursors of trade marks
and were legally protected. Contracts between manufacturers and importers regulated their use and distribution from early on. These “trade mark
labels”, as they were called at the time, were often subject to negotiation.
The importers took care in selecting the pictures and demanded exclusive
rights to them. In return, they committed themselves to taking certain
quantities of products from the manufacturers. Because they represented
the combined interests of producers and importers against the competition, the dyestuff labels played an essential part in the economic process.
1
Geigy label for Hong Kong. Around 1878.
François Appel printing company, Paris.
Standard labels: the name “Geigy”
and the name of the dyestuff were added
later. Appel worked for the major firms
in Europe from 1875 to 1890.
2
Geigy label for India. 1889.
Printers unknown.
A Roman chariot. The medals on the
left represent the prizes that Geigy won
at international exhibitions.
3
Geigy label for Japan. Around 1893.
Lithography: Müller & Trüb printing
company, Aarau (Switzerland).
Two Japanese women in kimonos.
This image is strongly European in style.
These labels were not cheap – in 1893,
1,000 labels cost 37.50 Swiss francs!
4
Geigy label for Japan. Around 1893.
Lithography: Müller & Trüb printing
company, Aarau (Switzerland).
Wrestling ring with sumo wrestler dressed
in a ceremonial robe. The style is very
European.
24
As early as the 1880s, dyestuffs came on to the Asian markets in complete
packaging, consisting of a main label, a spine label and a suitable seal-like
closure – all carefully bonded to a glossy paper envelope that often showed
the color of the product inside.
A travel report from 1885 stressed that the Chinese attached less
importance to the purity of the dyestuffs than to the careful crafting of the
labels. The same appears to have been true in other parts of Asia. With this
in mind, the Basel companies faced the fundamental issue about the psychological dimension of images and their emotional influence on the act
of buying: they had to speak the client’s visual language. To guarantee a
product’s success, the label had to be attractive, even if that meant raising
the price. CIBA, Geigy and Sandoz brought in excellent lithographers to
make the dyestuff labels, and they created works of art that reflected the
tastes and culture of an international clientele. Unfortunately, the names of
most of the original creators are unknown. Only the studios which employed
them can be traced – in Paris, Winterthur (Switzerland) , Aarau (Switzerland)
and above all in Basel.
Towards 1880, pictures with a commercial character were already
part of everyday life. Serving the major brands of the day, they enhanced a
product’s value, as was the case with Nestlé and Liebig. But the dyestuff
labels were not designed as advertising media to set the scene for a product. Far more, they communicated entirely autonomously, independently of
the product. For their pictorial world was aligned to the clientele’s cultural
1
3
2
4
25
5
Label by Bindschedler & Busch (later CIBA)
for India. 1873 –1884.
Printers unknown. Probably the Maharaja
Ranbir Singh (1830 – 1885). The medals again
represent prizes won at major exhibitions.
environment. To begin with, the dyestuff labels around 1880 manifested a
6
Geigy label for India. 1900s.
Lithography: Gebrüder Lips printing company, Basel. View of the Babulnath temple in
Mumbai (India) dedicated to the Hindu god
Shiva.
their inspiration from the Far East, as had the Impressionists before them
7
Sandoz label for China. Around 1930.
Printers unknown. A cockerel and a hen.
reinterpreted from a European perspective. The images of flowers and
8
Sandoz label for China. Around 1930.
Printers unknown. Five boys riding fish.
onward, Sandoz, CIBA and Geigy contributed to an important economic
9
Closure seal on Geigy dyestuff packaging
for Japan. Around 1893.
The circular seal belongs to the label with
two Japanese women in kimonos (3),
but is far smaller and less carefully crafted.
European or partly oriental character. From 1900 the labels systematically
took up cultural themes which appealed to the importing countries: local
personalities and buildings for India, indigenous flowers and legends for
China, women in kimonos for the Japanese Islands. The lithographers drew
– especially from Japanese art. In the wake of the flood of Japanese graphics that inundated Europe in the second half of the 19th century, CIBA,
Sandoz and Geigy introduced Japanese-style pictures to the markets of
Osaka (Japan) or Yokohama (Japan) – pictures which, however, had been
birds destined for Shanghai reveal both knowledge of Chinese painting and
a distinctly European formal language. From the end of the 19th century
and cultural exchange by building a bridge between primarily Swiss artists
and Asian customers, selling thousands of Swiss lithographs as labels in
Delhi (India), Amritsar (India) and Hong Kong.
The golden age of the magnificent labels circulated by Sandoz, Geigy
and CIBA came to an end before the Second World War. Production and administration costs combined with a shift in tastes led to styles that were
more in keeping with the objectivity of the new age.
26
5
6
8
7
9
27
2
Export and expansion
International and innovative from the outset
1881–1914
The aniline dyes manufactured in Basel were exported from the very beginning, initially to France, and then later to the UK and Germany too. In
addition to European customers, North American and Asian customers also
bought dyes from Basel from the 1870s. To begin with, distribution was
undertaken by independent trading companies, but was increasingly taken
over by subsidiaries as time went on. Basel’s chemical companies operated
foreign production sites and regional offices from a surprisingly early stage.
What initially prompted them to invest abroad? First of all, eagerness to
expand or ensure future growth in every case. The protectionist policies of
the French and Russian governments also played a significant role in the
establishment of factories in those countries. However, there was another
motive behind the direct investment of CIBA in the UK: the company was
aiming to secure its own supply of products needed for manufacturing.
The first factories in France ... In 1881, Durand & Huguenin founded the first
Swiss dye factory abroad at Saint-Fons, within the sales area of the textile
center of Lyon. Fifteen years after it began operations, 3 chemists and 85
production and office workers were employed at the 14,500 square metre
site. The factory primarily produced fuchsine. When its two founders, Durand and Huguenin, retired from the business, the company began looking
for a buyer for the Saint-Fons factory. This decision was not one against
manufacturing abroad in general, but against the specific burdens created
by the remote site. CIBA acquired the plant in 1900. Geigy had decided as far
back as 1891 to set up a French production site. One year later, the company
rented a vacant factory building in Maromme, close to the textile center of
Rouen. In 1894, it purchased the building. It was a very modest production
plant: up until the outbreak of the First World War, it employed only five to
seven people manufacturing dyewood extracts.
... and in Germany It was again Durand & Huguenin who established a factory in the Alsatian town of Hüningen, on the border with Switzerland, in
1886. Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, large parts of
Alsace were annexed by Germany. The journey between the Hüningen
production site and the company headquarters was extremely short. Ten
years later, the 4,300 square metre site employed 1 chemist and 15 production workers. Geigy purchased a plot in nearby Grenzach in 1897 and
built the first production, office and machinery buildings there over the
following two years. Production began at the end of 1898. There were
numerous reasons for this investment: first, the facilities at Rosental were
outdated. Secondly, the site was becoming increasingly boxed in by residential streets, and residents were being disturbed by noise and odors.
Thirdly, the Grenzach site was connected to the German railroad network.
The foreign location of this production facility had little significance until
the outbreak of the First World War. Before that, the borders in the Basel
region were permeable, meaning labor and capital could circulate freely.
Grenzach considered itself a suburb of Basel, like the Swiss towns of
Muttenz and Birsfelden.
30
export and expansion
1881–1914
Locations in Russia In 1890, Geigy rented a site with production buildings in
Karavayevka, close to Moscow, and began to manufacture dyewood extracts there. The company also sold aniline dyes from Basel through this
subsidiary. Geigy later entered into a partnership with a chemical factory in
Liepāja (now in Latvia), which prompted Geigy to give up its previous location in 1910. Shortly before the turn of the 20th century, CIBA founded its
first foreign production site in Pabianice (now in Poland) through a merger
with the company Schweikert & Froelich. The town was close to the textile
center of Lodz. The plant produced acetic acid and azo and sulphur dyes
based on materials fabricated in Basel. Production volumes and the buildings used for manufacture grew continuously until the outbreak of the
First World War.
The first direct investments in North America ... The USA became Geigy’s
second most important market after Germany early on. From 1900, American customers were buying goods worth well over 1 million Swiss francs a
year, imported via New York. Geigy products were sold through a retail company. In 1903, the newly founded Geigy Aniline & Extract Company, a subsidiary of Geigy Basel, took over distribution. The young company was based
at 89 Barclay Street in New York, an ideal address in the heart of an area
where many trading and haulage companies, textile firms and banks were
based. The dyes manufactured in Basel were distributed by branches in
Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Atlanta in the USA, and Toronto in Canada. In 1904, Geigy set up a mixing plant at an existing factory site in New
Jersey, reducing freight costs considerably. The company also set up production facilities for extracts, which could be produced far more profitably
in New Jersey than in Basel thanks to the low cost of raw materials.
... and in the UK The Basel-based chemical companies had to import coal tar
and the primary products and intermediates derived from it, and did so almost exclusively from Germany. CIBA’s largest supplier of products needed
for manufacture, Chemische Fabrik Griesheim-Elektron, gradually developed into a synthetic dye producer itself and adopted a very aggressive
sales approach. CIBA came under ever greater pressure due to its dependence on the company and tried to free itself from this ruthless competitor.
Management decided to acquire a company in the UK in order to secure
purchases of products needed for manufacture. In 1911, CIBA acquired the
English dye factory Clayton Aniline Company Ltd. in Clayton near Manchester. Sandoz followed suit: on December 8, 1911, The Sandoz Chemical Company Ltd. was entered in the commercial register with a share capital of
£ 2,000. The company began operations at a building in Bradford, although
production did not begin until the interwar period. This location was almost
preordained, as Sandoz manufactured high-quality wool dyes and Bradford
was the center of the prosperous Yorkshire wool industry and the undisputed wool capital of the world.
German chemistry takes a leading role The first dyes were discovered
by means of luck, intuition, and trial and error. In the early years of the
31
chemical industry, new dyes and simpler methods of preparation were
found using empirical and experimental means. To start with, almost
nothing was known about the chemical make-up or structure of dyes. This
changed with the birth of structural theory (1858) and benzene theory
(1865), both developed by German chemist Friedrich August Kekulé. His
work became the basis for the logical development of the whole of dye chemistry. However, only German chemists recognized the full importance of
Kekulé’s theories, with the French and English paying them little regard.
By the end of the 1860s, this was already having an impact: while the early
phase of dye chemistry had been dominated by English and French discoveries, German laboratories were now playing the pioneering role. The
secret behind their success was simple and effective: an intensive exchange of knowledge between academic chemists and the chemical industry.
Initial innovations from Basel Basel companies initially produced only imitation dyes. As there was no patent protection for chemical processes in
Switzerland until 1907, companies based there could copy foreign formulations without any problems. In the 1870s, however, the Basel dye chemistry industry began to market dyes that it had developed itself. In 1894,
15 of the 142 new industrial dyes had been developed by companies in Basel. While Basel was developing far fewer dyes than Germany (with 116), this
number still exceeded those made by the English and French (11 in total).
The relatively high rate of innovation in the Basel dye industry was partly
due to its close relationship with the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich
(now the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich). Chemists with practical
training from Zurich played a key role in the Basel industry from the very
beginning. Two of them – Bindschedler and Kern – even went on to found
their own companies. The innovative successes of Basel companies were
based not only on the applicable knowledge of the chemists, however, but
also on the process technology expertise of engineers, who had to know
the precise setting specifications for equipment and how to distribute
temperatures evenly in vessels.
The Basel dye factories move into the pharmaceutical business The modern pharmaceutical industry came into being in the 1880s. In 1884, the
German company Farbenwerke Hoechst brought fever-reducing antipyrine
on to the market. This quickly became the most successful pharmaceutical
product of the century. As there was no patent protection, in 1887 CIBA
also began to produce this antipyretic drug. One of the first medications
developed in Basel was the anti-inflammatory salol, discovered in 1886 by
Professor Marceli Nencki from Bern (Switzerland). Durand & Huguenin acquired the manufacturing rights and brought the active substance to market as an antirheumatic. In 1895, Sandoz also began manufacture of its first
pharmaceutical product: by joining the Antipyrine Agreement, the company
secured itself a fixed portion of the business coordinated and managed by
Hoechst. In addition to antipyrine, Sandoz also produced and successfully
32
export and expansion
1881–1914
marketed synthetic saccharine and plant-based codeine that had been developed and launched by German companies. The oldest Basel dye factory,
Geigy, felt obliged to pursue a conservative business policy until the outbreak of the First World War, and ruled out entering the pharmaceutical
sector. By contrast, the youngest company, Basler Chemische Fabrik (BCF)
produced both dyes and pharmaceuticals from the outset. In the last financial year before its merger with CIBA, BCF generated 2.5 million Swiss
francs from sales of dyes and medicinal products. Its pharmaceutical business accounted for 40 per cent of total sales – significantly higher than at
CIBA, which generated only 7 per cent of its total sales in this sector.
Through its acquisition of BCF, CIBA also gained access to interesting pharmaceutical products, including the antiseptic Vioform and the antirheumatic Salen.
Pharmaceutical competition in Basel: the founding of Roche In 1896, Fritz
Hoffmann-La Roche (1868–1920) founded a company in Basel devoted exclusively to the manufacture and trading of pharmaceutical products. Hoffmann-La Roche was neither a pharmacist nor a physician, as was usual for
founders of drug companies, but a proactive young businessman. The company soon expanded abroad (to Milan, Italy, in 1897, Paris in 1903 and New
York in 1905). Until the outbreak of the First World War, it generated sales
primarily from Sirolin, a cough medicine launched in 1898. Its orange flavor
and clever advertising quickly made this product a bestseller.
33
Geigy Karavayevka (Russia).
Left: Carl Koechlin-Iselin
(1856-1914), head and part owner
of Geigy; right: E. Zehnder,
technical head of the Russian
factory. 1892.
Geigy Karavayevka (Russia).
Foreground, right: the Russian
factory coachman; left,
wearing fur hat: E. Zehnder,
technical head of the factory.
1892.
012
012
Vioform powder dispenser (CIBA). 1920s.
013
Sample card of Geigy’s US agent
John J. Keller & Co., New York. Around 1900.
014
Aerial photograph of the Geigy plant,
Grenzach (Germany). 1924.
34
013
export and expansion
1881–1914
014
35
Geigy Basel. Dye works.
Around 1900.
CIBA Basel. Accounting department.
July 14, 1909.
CIBA Basel. Correspondence
office. July 19, 1909.
CIBA Basel. Business Management
office. Standing: Heinrich Hollenweger (1852–1926), sitting: German
Georg (1862–1911). 1910.
015
Traugott Sandmeyer (1854–1922). 1897.
Traugott Sandmeyer, born in Wettingen
(Switzerland), completed an apprenticeship
in precision engineering in Zurich.
He went on to teach himself chemistry.
In 1882, Professor Victor Meyer, who had
recognized Sandmeyer’s extraordinary gift
for chemistry, created an assistant post
at the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich
especially for him. There, in 1884, Sandmeyer
discovered the Sandmeyer reaction, which
was named after him. In 1888, he joined
Geigy, where he made numerous important
discoveries on the synthesis of dyes
and their associated products. His work had
lasting benefits for the global growth of
Geigy. Sandmeyer was awarded an honorary
doctorate by the University of Heidelberg
(Germany) in 1891, and in 1915 was made
Doctor honoris causa of the Federal Institute
of Technology, Zurich.
016
CIBA production facilities, Pabianice
(Poland; Russia before the First World War).
1930s.
017
Building 145 of Clayton Aniline & Co. Ltd.,
Clayton, near Manchester (UK).
December 1933.
36
015
export and expansion
1881–1914
016
017
37
Sandoz Basel. Chemists
Oskar Knecht, Heinrich Fulda
(sitting on chair) and
Alfred Raillard (right, standing).
May 14, 1910.
CIBA Pabianice (Russia, now
Poland). Factory fire department.
Around 1910.
CIBA Basel. Repair center. 1911.
018
Japanese brochure for Salen (CIBA). 1930.
019
Gas absorption system from the 1880s
at the Geigy Rosental plant in Basel.1944.
38
018
export and expansion
1881–1914
019
39
CIBA Basel. Workers from the
Pharmaceutical department. 1911.
Geigy manager for the Indian
dye business, Walter Sänger,
with Indian agents. 1912.
020
020
Geigy production facilities, Karavayevka,
near Moscow (Russia). 1892.
021
CIBA industrial plant, Saint-Fons, near Lyon
(France). Around 1910.
022
Pump at the Geigy Rosental site. 1893.
This photograph of a suction pump is taken
from an old photo album and is entitled
“Master Hiltbold and his pump, 1893.”
Master Hiltbold, seen on the right, designed
the system himself. It pumped water from
a canal into the Rosental reservoir. It was
dismantled on May 22, 1919.
40
021
export and expansion
1881–1914
022
41
3
The First World War
holding firm in troubled times
1914–1918
Historians describe the First World War as the seminal catastrophe of the
20th century. Millions died in the first “industrial war” and the previously
stable global trading system collapsed abruptly. The First World War destroyed the old order and the traditional power structure in Europe. Three
empires collapsed: the German Reich, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and
the Czarist empire. Two new superpowers with conflicting social systems
emerged: the USA and the Soviet Union. However, states whose neutrality
was respected – the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands and Switzerland – were not so affected by the war. They even gained some economic
advantages from it.
Record profits thanks to loss of competition When hostilities broke out in
August 1914, the head offices of the Basel companies were anxious and
bewildered. There were no indications that the Basel chemical industry
would soon be posting record profits. Half of all production workers and
three-quarters of chemists employed by CIBA had to join the army. But the
First World War fundamentally changed economic conditions in favor of
neutral Switzerland. On the eve of the war, the global market for textile dyestuffs was almost exclusively the preserve of German and Swiss companies. Germany manufactured around 85 per cent of textile dyestuffs, and
Basel around 10 per cent. The outbreak of the war changed these market
shares almost overnight. The Germans suspended their exports, and the
British and French were unable in the short term to compensate by expanding their own industries. The British and French therefore turned instead
to the Basel chemical companies, whose dyestuffs were primarily needed
for uniforms. The absence of previously overwhelming German competition
from the markets of Germany’s enemies opened up unprecedented opportunities for Swiss dyestuff manufacturers – albeit to varying degrees. CIBA
made the strongest gains in absolute terms, and Geigy the weakest. In
relative terms, Sandoz was the biggest winner: its turnover in 1914 was
6 million Swiss francs (of which 10 per cent was from pharmaceutical products), but this had already increased to over 14 million Swiss francs by
1915. Management’s annual report to the Board of Directors stated: “Sales
went very smoothly; everything we could produce was taken off our hands
immediately.” Sales by Sandoz rocketed the following year to almost 30
million Swiss francs, and rose in the last two years of the war to 37 million
Swiss francs. The largest purchaser by far was the UK textile industry,
which was the industry leader at the time. In 1917, Sandoz exported some 40
per cent of its dyestuffs to the UK. Other sales markets included the USA
(22 per cent), Italy (13 per cent), Switzerland and Japan (5 per cent), China
(4.4 per cent), France (4.3 per cent) and Spain (3.4 per cent).
Sandoz establishes in-house pharmaceutical research The establishment
of independent pharmaceutical research at Sandoz is a milestone in the
history of the predecessor companies of Novartis. The initiator of this move
was presumably Sandoz Director Melchior Böniger (1866–1929): in 1915, he
asked Professor Robert Gnehm (1852–1926) to find a competent person
44
The First World War
1914 – 1918
who could establish a pharmaceutical department in his company. As a
former Director and member of the Board of Directors of CIBA and the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sandoz, Gnehm was very familiar with the chemical industry. Furthermore, as Chairman of the Swiss
School Board (now the ETH Board) and a former Professor at and Director
of the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, he had a good insight into
research and knew the reputations of individual scientists. At Gnehm’s
suggestion, the Board of Directors of Sandoz appointed Swiss chemist
Arthur Stoll (1887–1971) on March 15, 1917. In hindsight, this landmark decision seems both farsighted and carefully considered. However, in the
context of the time, it was hardly either of these, as Sandoz lacked experience in this area. Profits were also only expected in the medium term. The
decision was assuredly not a strategic one: the matter came up under “Any
Other Business” and was approved without discussion. Everything indicates that the members of the Board did not realize the import of their
decision.
The company had succeeded in attracting a high-ranking scientist in
Stoll. He had worked closely with Nobel Prize winner Richard Willstätter,
first in Zurich, and then in Berlin (Germany) and Munich (Germany). Stoll had
made the area of chlorophyll research his own and gained new insights
there. For these achievements, he was awarded the title of Royal Bavarian
Professor in 1917 on Willstätter’s recommendation. From the outset, Stoll
focused the research programme of the new Sandoz department on highly
effective natural remedies. He aimed to isolate their active substances in
pure form, and to manufacture medications from them that could be precisely dosed and were consistently effective. It had long been known in traditional medicine that plants such as belladonna and foxglove had healing
properties, but extracts from medicinal plants at that time were usually not
pure enough, did not keep well and were often unpredictable. Dosages had
to be based on instinct and their effectiveness was inconsistent. Stoll’s
first study involved ergot (Secale cornutum). This growth on rye and wild
grasses, caused by a fungus (Claviceps purpurea), had been used since the
Middle Ages to induce childbirth. In 1918, using a new process that he had
helped to develop in Willstätter’s laboratory, Stoll was able to isolate a
crystalline alkaloid which he called ergotamine. Working together with
pharmacologists and clinicians, he was able to prove that ergotamine is
the active substance in ergot. Three years later, ergotamine was launched
under the brand name Gynergen as a drug to staunch the dreaded postpartum haemorrhages. However, the innovative isolation process was to prove
more important than this novel product itself for the further development
of the pharmaceutical department: the process could be transferred to
other areas, such as belladonna alkaloids and cardioactive glycosides.
Management at Sandoz recognized the potential of the discovery and patented the “Procedure to isolate a high-quality product from Secale cornutum” in April 1918 with the Swiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property.
45
Geigy Basel. Soccer players
from the FC Geigy team, founded
in 1920. 1920.
Geigy Basel. Vehicle fleet.
May 24, 1919.
Geigy Basel: “Tribelhörner”
(Swiss vehicles with electric
motors) and trucks driving
through the Rosental site.
May 24, 1919.
023
Robert Gnehm (1852–1926). Around 1910.
Robert Gnehm, born in the small Swiss town
of Stein am Rhein, graduated in technical
chemistry from the Federal Polytechnic
Institute, Zurich, in 1872. There he met Alfred
Kern, with whom he would remain friends
until Kern’s untimely death. While Kern
moved into practice after his studies, Gnehm
stayed at the Federal Polytechnic Institute,
gained a postdoctoral qualification and was
made a professor in 1876. However, in 1877,
he decided to leave Zurich and followed
his friend to the Karl Oehler dyestuff factory
in Offenbach (Germany). Both men returned
to Switzerland the following year, with
Gnehm heading first to Schwanden and then
in 1880 to Basel, to the Bindschedler & Busch
aniline dyestuff factory. When the company
became CIBA in 1884, he was appointed
a member of management. In 1892, he was
elected to the Board of Directors, but
stepped down in 1894. That same year, Gnehm
was appointed Professor for Technical
Chemistry at the Federal Polytechnic Institute, Zurich. In 1895, he joined the Board
of Directors of Sandoz, and was its Chairman
from 1896 to 1900.
024
Steam engine in building 34 at the Geigy
plant, Basel. June 20, 1920.
46
023
The First World War
1914 – 1918
024
47
Geigy Basel. Staff of building 21.
October 2, 1919.
Sandoz Basel. The first chef of
the Sandoz canteen with his staff.
Around 1920.
025
Spanish rail pass for Melchior Böniger
(1866 –1929) and Ida Böniger-Ris. 1926.
Melchior Böniger, born in Nidfurn
in the Swiss Canton of Glarus, completed
his studies in natural sciences at the
Federal Polytechnic Institute, Zurich,
in 1888. He gained his doctorate at the
University of Zurich in 1889, and joined
Sandoz in the same year as a chemist.
Böniger was a director there from 1895
to 1921; in 1922, he was elected to the
company’s Board of Directors. Sandoz
is indebted to him for the decisive course
taken to develop in-house pharmaceutical
research. Böniger supported welfare
institutions for production and office
workers and was involved in a number of
committees on economic policy.
026
Gynergen packaging. 1930s.
027
Arthur Stoll (1887–1971). Around 1930.
Arthur Stoll was born in Schinznach-Dorf
(Switzerland). He studied natural sciences at
the Federal Polytechnic Institute in
Zurich from 1906, where he became an assistant to Professor Richard Willstätter.
He completed his doctorate in 1911. When
Willstätter was appointed to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Chemistry in Berlin-Dahlem
in 1912, Stoll went with him as his senior
assistant. Four years later, he followed his
teacher to Munich (Germany). In 1917, Stoll
was awarded the title of Royal Bavarian
Professor. That same year, Sandoz entrusted
him with the task of setting up the pharmaceutical research department. He quickly
achieved scientific success with products
based on ergot and cardioactive natural substances. At the same time, he built up a sales
and advertising organization. Stoll became
a Director of Sandoz in 1923, and was a member of the Board of Directors and CEO
of Sandoz from 1933 to 1963. Stoll received
numerous awards, including the Marcel
Benoist Prize in 1942 and the Paul Karrer
Medal in 1959. He was also awarded 18 honorary doctorates.
48
025
The First World War
1914 – 1918
026
027
49
Ergot alkaloidsi
The young pharmaceutical department of Sandoz isolated the active sub-
Medicines from a fungusi
stances from known medicinal plants in pure form and used them to produce medicines with precise dosages. Using this successful technique,
Arthur Stoll managed to isolate the highly active substance ergotamine in
pure form in 1918. This ergot alkaloid was launched on the market under
the name Gynergen in 1921. After initially being used to stop postnatal
bleeding, thereby saving many women’s lives, a further application as a
remedy for migraines was added in the late 1920s.
Ergot alkaloids are natural substances produced by the fungus Cla-
viceps purpurea. This sac fungus is parasitic, living primarily on rye. It invades the ovary of its host plant and forms a violet-black sclerotium which
protrudes from the plant’s spikes. This protruding growth contains alkaloids and is also known as ergot (Secale cornutum). Cereals infected by this
fungus must not be eaten. If consumed in large quantities, ergot causes
poisoning. “Ignis sacer” (holy fire) or “Saint Anthony’s fire” were medieval
terms for ergotism, the symptoms of poisoning by infected crops. In those
days, mass poisonings caused by ergot alkaloids were not uncommon.
The first precise description of ergot can be found in the Kräuterbuch,
published in 1582 by Adam Lonitzer, botanist and town physician of Frankfurt am Main (Germany). Lonitzer looked on ergot primarily as a medicine
and knew that midwives used it to induce labor. The first chemical experiments to isolate the active substances in ergot were performed in the 19th
century: in 1875, Frenchman Charles Tanret extracted a crystalline mixture
of three alkaloids from ergot, calling it ergotinine. This compound did not
gain acceptance in medical practice, however. English chemists George
Barger and Francis Howard Carr managed to isolate a mixture known as
ergotoxin in 1907. This did have a certain physiological effect, but was not
strong enough to be used for treatment purposes. Stoll, therefore, was able
to build on an existing tradition of research into ergot. With the isolation of
ergotamine in 1918, Stoll laid the foundations for systematic research into
ergot at Sandoz. In the late 1930s, Sandoz chemists succeeded in partially
synthesizing the natural ergot alkaloids. They began varying the chemical
structure and, consequently, the pharmacological effects, which opened
up new areas of application. The substances were used to treat disorders of
the vegetative nervous system (Bellergal), age-related symptoms of cerebral insufficiency (Hydergin), hypotonic circulatory disorders (Dihydergot)
and tension headaches (Cafergot, Deseril). They were also prescribed as a
prophylactic against postoperative thromboembolisms (Heparin-Dihydergot). When the product Parlodel/Pravidel was launched in the 1970s, it attracted considerable scientific attention: the partially synthesized ergot
1
Ergot being harvested by hand for
Sandoz in Emmental (Switzerland). 1970s.
2
Ergot products. Probably 1980s.
50
alkaloid it contained, bromocriptine, was the first in a new class of medicines which stimulated dopamine receptors. Today, the dopamine agonist
Parlodel is still used in the treatment of a range of disorders such as hyperprolactinemia (abnormally high prolactin concentrations in the blood),
Parkinson’s disease and acromegaly.
1
2
51
4
The interwar period
A boom in pharmaceuticals
1918–1939
The First World War brought an end to the era of free trade. Protectionism
took hold of the global economy. Many countries either introduced tariff
protection for the first time or increased their tariffs. Trade barriers ranged
from export and import licenses to import quotas and bans to foreign
currency controls. A protectionist mentality became widespread during
the 1920s to an extent previously unheard of. It affected not only massproduced commodities, but also specialist and high-quality goods. The
Swiss chemical industry had to adapt to this development. The Great
Depression hit in 1929, marking a low point in international trade relations.
Tackling the new competition: the founding of Basler IG The end of the war
changed market conditions at a stroke. The victorious allies, in particular
the UK and the USA, had developed their own chemical industries in the
interim, and these were now penetrating the international market. In response to this, the Basel dyestuff producers closed ranks: CIBA, Sandoz and
Geigy formed an interest group in September 1918 known as Basler IG.
Unlike the German dyestuff manufacturers that merged to form IG Farben
in 1925, the companies in Basler IG retained their independence. The aim of
the interest group was to strengthen the Basel companies in an increasingly competitive environment. The companies centralized and rationalized, operated a collective purchasing policy and established joint production sites: one such was built in Cincinnati (Ohio, USA) in 1920, and another
in Seriate (near Bergamo, Italy) in 1925. To avoid internal competition, the
three companies divided specific areas of research and production between themselves. They agreed to pool all profits, which were then still
largely generated from dyestuffs, and distribute them amongst one another based on fixed proportions. After initial difficulties regarding the distribution formula, they agreed on the following: from 1920 onwards, 52 per
cent of total annual profits would be allocated to CIBA, and 24 per cent each
to Geigy and Sandoz. This basically continued to apply until Basler IG disbanded prematurely at the end of 1950. While Geigy and Sandoz generated
similar profits in the late 1920s, the proportion contributed by Geigy fell
steadily during the 1930s: in 1939, it accounted for only 14.5 per cent of the
group’s income. As the weakest partner, Geigy therefore benefited from the
profit-sharing arrangement, which led to continual conflicts between the
three companies.
Pharmaceuticals gain in importance Why did the development in the IG
partners’ profits vary so greatly? The key reason lay in their differing structures: when Basler IG was founded, CIBA and Sandoz secured the areas of
vat dyestuffs and alizarin for themselves, which brought them considerable
success. In addition, they had exclusive rights to pharmaceutical production, as they had already established corresponding departments before
Basler IG was founded. By contrast, Geigy only started to set up a pharmaceutical department in 1938. Pharmaceutical products in particular
proved to be highly profitable and experienced considerable growth in the
interwar period. Thus, in 1934, Sandoz managed to sell 14 per cent more
54
The interwar period
1918 –1939
pharmaceutical specialty products than it did the previous year, and sales
of specialty products continued to develop very positively in the subsequent years. Sandoz regularly launched new products and took a great deal
of care over their marketing, to good effect: in 1935, sales rose by 22.5 per
cent. At its meeting on March 25, 1936, the Board of Directors was proud to
note that the Sandoz pharmaceutical business “has already reached 55 per
cent of CIBA’s business”. In 1938, sales of pharmaceutical specialty products rose again by 13.5 per cent over the previous year, achieving around
half the sales reported for dyestuffs. At this time, Germany was the most
important customer for Sandoz pharmaceuticals, with around a 30 per cent
share of total sales.
Hormones at CIBA ... Prior to the First World War, CIBA manufactured
three categories of products: the first group included pure substances (e.g.
the iodine product Lipojodin); the second, standardized extracts from animal (e.g. the blood-clotting product Coagulen) and plant substances (e.g.
the cardiac medication Digifolin); and the third, synthetic products (e.g. the
sleep medication and sedative Dial). During the war, CIBA decided to move
into an area with promising future prospects: between 1918 and 1939, the
company launched eight gonadal and hormone products. The oldest products, Agomensin and Sistomensin, were used to treat menstrual disorders.
In 1927, CIBA launched Prokliman to treat the symptoms of menopause. This
was followed in 1931 by Androstin, which targeted “Climacterium virile”, or
the male menopause, and impotence. These four products were purified
extracts from the female and male gonads, rather than pure sex hormones.
CIBA scientists achieved synthesis or “artificial” manufacture of human
sex hormones in the mid-1930s. Perandren was launched in 1936, followed
by Ovocyclin and Lutocyclin in 1938 – all three were synthetic hormone
products. From 1939, CIBA marketed Percorten, the first synthetic hormone
product to replace the natural substances produced by the adrenal cortex.
It was prescribed for adrenocortical insufficiency.
... and calcium at Sandoz Since its foundation during the First World War,
the young pharmaceutical department at Sandoz had been growing slowly but steadily. Within five years, it had launched four medications. However, it was still costing the company money rather than turning a profit. At
the meeting of the Board of Directors on May 12, 1922, Albert His-Veillon
(1858–1935) remarked that “a number of very good specialty products”
were being sold, but that the department “still [had] no money-spinner”; he
said that the pharmaceutical department should “now turn its attention to
developing this type of profitable product”. The pharmaceutical department finally turned a profit in 1924, albeit only 27,000 Swiss francs. Nevertheless, Arthur Stoll noted with satisfaction at the Board meeting of April
30, 1925, that “this area of the business has been able to cover its own costs
for the first time.” Stoll had worked consistently towards an effective advertising organization and an efficient distribution system. His efforts were
now bearing fruit. From 1927, the company also had a bestseller, in the form
55
of Calcium-Sandoz. By 1929, this product to treat calcium deficiency and
related disorders had become the best-selling Sandoz pharmaceutical
product. On average, Calcium-Sandoz accounted for over one-third of sales
in the first half of the 1930s.
Specialization, diversification and internationalization The Basel companies specialized their dyestuff production during the interwar period. They
focused on a wide range of high-value products, particularly patented specialties. This enabled them to offset losses from older classes of dyestuffs,
where foreign competitors dominated. The Basel chemical industry also
moved into new areas: it no longer only produced dyestuffs and medications, but also textile auxiliary substances, textile finishing products
(e.g. wetting and leveling agents and fluorescent whitening agents),
plastics, cosmetics and pesticides. The Basel chemical industry founded
further foreign subsidiaries in the interwar period, and set up new production sites abroad: in the USA, the UK, Japan, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Canada,
France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Argentina, Brazil, China and Portugal.
These foreign investments were made in order to increase competitiveness
through lower production and transport costs, circumvent import restrictions and obstacles to market entry, gain greater proximity to customers
and tap new markets.
Expansion of the Basel sites Thanks to their sensational performances,
CIBA and Sandoz were able to start modernizing their Basel sites and expanding their production facilities even during the First World War. This
continued during the 1920s and 1930s. The old production sheds at the
Sandoz St. Johann site gave way to multistoried manufacturing premises.
According to a contemporary Swiss architectural journal, the new industrial buildings “[took] into account the challenges of our time” by making
allowance for “the demand for beauty in their external appearance, and the
demand for efficacy as regards the interior”. The buildings were designed
by Ernst Eckenstein, the company’s in-house architect from 1915 to 1939.
His final project at the St. Johann site was the construction of the new
administration building designed by architects Brodtbeck & Bohny. After
the Second World War, this angular building (later known as building 200,
now Forum 1) was extended by two new wings to make it rectangular.
56
The interwar period
1918 –1939
Sandoz Basel. Packaging
department. Early 1930s.
Geigy Basel. Dyeworks. April 1937.
Sandoz Basel. Ampoule filling.
Early 1930s.
028
028
Digifolin packaging (CIBA). 1920s.
029
Norwood production facilities for azo
dyestuffs at the joint plant in Cincinnati
(Ohio, USA). 1938.
030
Administration building at the joint plant
in Seriate near Bergamo (Italy). 1939.
58
029
The interwar period
1918 –1939
030
59
CIBA Saint-Fons near Lyon
(France).
Correspondence office.
February 24, 1926.
CIBA Brussels (Belgium).
Laboratory. January 1938.
031
031
Lipojodin packaging (CIBA). 1930s.
032
Coramin advertising blotter. 1925.
Coramin was launched in 1924.
This respiratory and circulatory stimulant
was among other things used for reviving
people who had suffered drowning.
It remained a key sales driver for CIBA for
decades.
033
Basel production facility for CalciumSandoz. Early 1930s.
60
032
The interwar period
1918 –1939
033
61
CIBA Company Inc.’s stand at
the American Medical Association
trade exhibition in Portland
(Oregon, USA). July 1929.
CIBA Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Advertising department. 1938.
CIBA Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Production area for Binaca
toothpaste. 1938.
034
034
Advertising poster for CIBA Binaca toothpaste. 1941. © 2012 Pro Litteris, Zurich.
Painter and graphic designer Niklaus
Stoecklin restricted himself to the key
message in this masterpiece of Swiss
poster art: a glass, a tube of toothpaste
and a toothbrush – strikingly plastic.
035
Rear of Sandoz Chemical Works, Inc. in
Charlton Street, New York. 1930s.
The US subsidiary of Sandoz was founded
on July 16, 1919. Alongside import and sales,
the commercial register entry already
mentions production of dyestuffs, chemicals
and pharmaceutical products.
036
Warehouse of the Geigy Colour Company Ltd.,
Manchester (UK). Around 1925.
62
035
The interwar period
1918 –1939
036
63
Sandoz Basel. Filling of Optalidon
suppositories. Prior to 1939.
CIBA Chicago. July 1920.
CIBA Philadelphia (Pennsylvania,
USA). July 1920.
037
037
Optalidon packaging. Probably 1930s.
Sandoptal, a barbituric acid derivative
launched in 1927, was Sandoz’s first step into the field of synthetic medicines. Despite
being highly effective, the drug never became
properly established. Apart from the barbituric acid derivative marketed by the
German companies Merck and Bayer under
the generic name of Veronal, many other
barbiturates had been available for some
time. Sandoz had more success with
Optalidon, a combination drug created from
Sandoptal, pyramidon and caffeine,
which was launched in 1928. This drug was
highly successful with dentists in particular,
although many other pain-relief products
were already available.
038
CIBA Charlotte (North Carolina, USA). 1920s.
039
CIBA Chicago. Secretariat. 1938.
64
038
The interwar period
1918 –1939
039
65
Geigy Basel. Site fire department.
October 1932.
CIBA Prague (Czechoslovakia,
now the Czech Republic).
Storage facility. January 1938.
CIBA Bombay (now Mumbai, India).
Dyeworks laboratory. January 1938.
040
Storage facility for intermediate products
at the Sandoz site in Basel. Early 1930s.
041
Dining room in the welfare building at the
Sandoz site in Basel. Early 1930s.
66
040
The interwar period
1918 –1939
041
67
Sandoz Basel. Ampoule filling.
Before 1939.
Sandoz Basel. Label storage
facility of the pharmaceutical
packaging department.
Before 1939.
Sandoz Basel. Ampoule cartoning
of Calcium-Sandoz. Before 1939.
042
Construction of the new administration
building at the Sandoz site in Basel.
March 2, 1938.
043
Administration building at the Sandoz site
in Basel. 1943.
68
042
The interwar period
1918 –1939
043
69
CIBA Osaka (Japan). January 1938.
CIBA Osaka (Japan). Elbon packing
area. 1927.
CIBA Osaka (Japan). Advertising
department. 1927.
CIBA Osaka (Japan). Scientific
office and sales organization.
January 1938.
044
044
Elbon packaging. Probably 1930s.
The first scientific publication on the
treatment of tubercular fever with Elbon,
a cinnamic acid product launched by
CIBA, appeared in 1911.
045 | 046
Tuberculosis Day in Osaka (Japan). 1927.
Nurses distribute brochures about the tuberculosis drug Elbon.
70
045
The interwar period
1918 –1939
046
71
Correspondence office of CIBA
Shanghai. Probably 1939.
Laboratory of CIBA Shanghai.
Probably 1939.
047
Premises of CIBA Shanghai. Around 1938.
048
Accounting office of CIBA Shanghai.
Probably 1939.
72
047
The interwar period
1918 –1939
048
73
Earlyi
hormone productsi
from CIBAi
First from animals,i
then from the laboratoryi
At the beginning of the 20th century, various physiologists, biologists and
physicians suspected that the gonads – in other words, the ovaries and the
testes – produced chemical substances which are distributed throughout
the body via the blood. Three decades later, these substances were given
the name “sex hormones”. By the mid-1930s, the five most important sex
hormones had been isolated, synthesized and given the names by which we
know them today: estrone, estradiol, progesterone, androsterone and testosterone. The pharmaceutical industry played a leading role in research
into sex hormones. In Switzerland, CIBA in particular dedicated itself intensively and persistently to research into sex hormones from 1914 onwards,
and in the interwar period, the company launched seven different hormone
products as patented medicinal product innovations. In 1918, CIBA had
launched its first two extracts from animal ovaries: Agomensin and Sistomensin, which were mainly used to treat menstrual disorders. Although
both were patent-protected original CIBA products, the manufacturing
processes had been discovered by external scientists who had sold them to
the Basel-based company. By contrast Prokliman, launched in 1927, and
Androstin, available from 1931, were based on processes which the CIBA
laboratory had been using for some time to manufacture organ extracts.
Prokliman was a combination drug: alongside the ovary extract, it also contained a laxative, a sedative, a vasodilator and a blood pressure regulator.
It promised to alleviate the symptoms of the female menopause. Androstin,
a testicular extract, was also aimed at treating climacteric complaints,
namely problems caused by the “male menopause”.
CIBA worked on synthesizing sex hormones from the 1920s. A number
of advantages were expected to result from synthetic replacements for
hormone extracts. Raw material procurement would be simplified, meaning
that production quantities would not be dependent on the availability of
slaughterhouse waste – partly imported from South America. Furthermore,
synthetic production methods were considered to be much more reliable in
terms of purity and effectiveness than traditional extraction processes.
1
Perandren leaflet. 1953.
2
Packaging for Ovocyclin.
Probably 1950s.
3
Packaging for Percorten.
Probably 1950s.
From 1935 onwards, CIBA scientists were not only able to manufacture natural sex hormones by partial synthesis. They also managed to construct sex
hormones which do not occur in nature, but are far more effective than their
natural prototypes. This new knowledge was attained thanks to various
forms of cooperation. The key factor was the collaboration with Professor
Leopold Ru žička of the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. In 1932,
Ružička presented a plan for manufacturing synthetic hormones by means
of partial synthesis. In just two years, his university research team in Zurich
4
Packaging for Androstin.
Probably 1950s.
managed to artificially create the male hormone androsterone from choles-
5
Packaging for Agomensin and
Sistomensin.
1930s and after 1945.
In 1935, Ružička was able to announce – together with CIBA chemist Albert
74
terol. Meanwhile, industrial chemists in Basel developed a method for isolating the hormone progesterone in crystallized form from animal ovaries.
Wettstein (1907–1974) – that he had worked out the chemical structure of
the male hormone testosterone. The following year, CIBA launched its first
synthetic hormone: Perandren. This was followed in 1938 by Ovocyclin and
Lutocyclin, CIBA’s first synthetic female hormones. The active substance in
Perandren was a testosterone derivative with a chemical structure that
does not occur in nature. Ovocyclin, too, was based on a synthetic hormone,
an artificial estradiol compound. Lutocyclin’s active substance was synthetic progesterone. At the same time, Tadeusz Reichstein from the Federal
Institute of Technology was researching the hormones secreted by the
adrenal cortex. He obtained the organ extracts from Dutch pharmaceutical company Organon. In 1936, Reichstein was able to show that, like sex
hormones, substances from the adrenal cortex (corticosteroids) are also
steroids. CIBA was keen to prevent knowledge about the structure of steroid hormones reaching foreign competitors via Reichstein. Conversely,
Reichstein and Organon had little choice but to continue working with CIBA,
as the company held important patents in the field of steroids. In 1939, CIBA
launched the first synthetic adrenal cortex product under the trade name
Percorten, which was initially prescribed to treat Addison’s disease (adrenal
insufficiency).
6.1
The seven gonadal and hormone products together with Percorten re-
mained on the market under various identities – new combinations, manufacturing processes and indications – until the 1950s and 1960s.
1
2
3
4
5
75
Calcium-Sandozi
The cornerstone ofi
modern calcium therapyi
Calcium was used in China as a haemostatic as early as the pre-Christian
era. In the 16th century, the famous doctor, alchemist and philosopher
Paracelsus prescribed a compound made from calcium-rich corals for
uterine haemorrhage. The scientific principles behind calcium therapy were
first established in the 1890s, and the first quarter of the 20th century saw
the launch of numerous calcium products on the market. They were used
for a broad range of indications, including hives, rickets, scrofula, as a tonic
during pregnancy and as a prophylactic against catarrh. In 1924, German
pediatrician Kurt Blühdorn observed jokingly that “there is hardly a disease
for which chalk has not been used as a treatment.” The calcium products
were based on a range of salts, combinations and dosage forms. However,
the calcium therapy of the day had a number of problems to contend with. If
administered by injection, calcium was poorly tolerated, often leading to
painful tissue injuries which were slow to heal. By contrast, orally administered calcium chloride, which was the most common product of that time,
had a harsh, salty and bitter taste and often caused indigestion. Patients
would usually refuse to continue taking it after a short while. The turnaround
came with the launch of Calcium-Sandoz in 1927: made from calcium gluconate – an organic salt compound chemically derived from glucose – this
product was completely taste-neutral, which gave it a considerable advantage over the other calcium salts. Of even greater importance was the fact
that, in contrast to competitor products, Calcium-Sandoz had a very high
tissue tolerance. Sandoz also emphasized the storage effect which occurred when the salt compound was injected intramuscularly.
Calcium-Sandoz turned out to be a stroke of luck for the company.
Although the pharmaceutical department founded in 1917 soon enjoyed
scientific success with products based on ergot and cardioactive natural
substances, the market was slow to embrace the new medicines. First, the
new specialties did not address the needs of the masses, such as treatments for fever and coughs, and were focused on narrow indication areas.
Second, Sandoz was still a relatively unknown brand. This meant that, initially, the pharmaceutical department only generated costs. In 1919, company founder Edouard Sandoz accused it of causing a “useless increase in
expenses”. And its head, Arthur Stoll, soon became known as the “expenses director”, while his colleague in the dyestuffs department was considered the “income director”. The pharmaceutical department only became
1
Calcium-Sandoz tin. 1930s.
2
Packaging of Calcium-Sandoz
for intramuscular and intravenous
injection and a sample pack of
Calcium-Sandoz + Vitamin C. 1980s.
3
Brochure for Calcium-Sandoz with
Vitamin C. 1950.
76
profitable in 1924. However, even then the small profit of 27,000 Swiss
francs did not come from its so-called pharmaceutical specialties (i.e. its
own, patented inventions, which still generated a loss of over 300,000 Swiss
francs), but from strong sales in the so-called alkaloid business (trade in
active substances). Pharmaceutical specialties were only catapulted into
the profit zone when Calcium-Sandoz was launched on the market. As the
salt of an alkaline earth metal, it may have been anything but a “fine product” based on “physiologically specific active substances from the plant
and animal kingdom”: it was dosed in grams and manufactured by the
1
2
3
77
4
Sandoz Basel. Filling calcium granules.
Prior to 1939.
tonne. But Calcium-Sandoz was a resounding market success, growing to
5
Sandoz Basel. Preparing Calcium-Sandoz
chocolate tablets. Prior to 1939.
In the following decades, Sandoz continuously expanded its range of cal-
become the company’s best-selling medicine by 1929. It became synonymous with calcium therapy and turned the company into a household name.
cium products. While previous applications such as the treatment of tetany, bronchial asthma, hay fever and bronchitis gradually faded into the
background, the product became increasingly important as a prophylactic
against osteoporosis.
78
4
5
79
5
The Second World War
and The early postwar period
Stagnation and modernization
1939–1951
The Second World War is considered one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. After Italy had joined the war and France was defeated in June 1940,
Switzerland was almost totally surrounded by the Axis powers. Following
the occupation of Southern France in the fall of 1942, its isolation was complete. This was a new situation for Switzerland. Its economy – closely interwoven with international markets and dependent both on exports of goods
and services and imports of raw materials and food – was now cut off from
the world market.
The Basel chemical industry – isolated, but well equipped Unlike in 1914,
the Basel chemical companies were already well established when the
Second World War broke out in September 1939. In the interwar period they
had undergone significant geographic expansion, entered new sectors and
launched new products. With the outbreak of war, foreign branches and
production sites became even more important. To some extent, they
enabled the isolated Basel headquarters to continue to serve the international markets and maintain key customer relationships. Sales of medicines, chemicals and pesticides performed well, which made up for losses
in the dyestuffs sector. In 1939, the Basel companies’ dyestuff business
had recorded improved sales figures in its markets thanks to precautionary
buying and stockpiling. During the course of the war, however, sales quickly
fell below the figures for the 1930s. As the key industrial nations were producing fewer fashionable textiles, demand for dyes slumped. In contrast to
dyestuff manufacturers in the countries at war, the Basel companies
were not able to offset losses in their civilian business with orders from the
armed forces. The economic war dampened exports, limited transport links
to a few insecure routes and prevented currency exchange. However, the
keenest challenge for the Basel chemical industry lay in raw material imports: most of its coal and starting products came from Germany. The Nazi
regime only permitted exports within a certain framework, which had to be
negotiated via the Swiss authorities responsible for the wartime economy.
Geigy CEO Carl Koechlin-Vischer (1889–1969) was appointed Head of the
Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry section of the Swiss Federal Department of War, Industry and Employment. He provided the Basel chemical
industry with an excellent link to the key offices of the Swiss economy in
the difficult war years. Koechlin’s efforts to secure the best possible provision of raw materials and German coal can hardly be overpraised. To help
meet the demand for energy, coal was also mined at various sites around
Switzerland. Sandoz had the Schwarzenmatt AG mine in Boltingen (Canton
of Bern), from which over 6,000 tonnes of additional fuel were extracted in
1943–1944. Towards the end of the war, German deliveries of raw materials
dwindled to very low levels. In this precarious situation, Basel’s chemical
industry focused on renovating and modernizing its production equipment.
It also expanded its research activities, because – as was noted in the 1940
Sandoz Annual Report – “only by staying ahead in terms of the quality of our
products will we survive the difficult war and postwar period.”
82
The Second World War and the early postwar period
1939 –1951
Revolutionary inventions: DDT ... In the autumn of 1939, Geigy research
chemist Paul Hermann Müller (1899–1965) discovered the insecticidal properties of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT. As it had a broad range
of applications and permanently destroyed numerous insect species, DDT
quickly became the most popular insecticide. Geigy supplied the international markets with the innovative DDT products Gesarol (for agriculture)
and Neocid (for control of disease-carrying insects). The company not only
exported these products directly from Basel; it also had DDT manufactured
at its foreign production sites and by licensed external companies. It supplied both the Axis powers and the Allies. While the US government used
DDT in the war only to combat the spread of typhus and malaria, the Germans mainly employed it to protect crops. However, the unrestricted global
use of DDT as a pesticide in the postwar years soon began to have worrying
adverse effects: the substance got into the fat reserves of birds, mammals
and humans via the food chain. After being praised initially as a miracle
weapon in the fight against diseases and pests, in the 1960s DDT became
the epitome of menacing toxin.
... and LSD In the 1930s, Sandoz chemist Albert Hofmann (1906–2008) resumed the company’s research into ergot alkaloids begun by Arthur Stoll.
Scientists at the Rockefeller Institute in New York had recently isolated the
basic structural unit common to the ergot alkaloids, lysergic acid. As part of
his search for a circulatory and respiratory stimulant, Hofmann synthesized various amide derivatives of lysergic acid in 1938. The 25th substance
in this series was lysergic acid diethylamide, which he named LSD-25 for
use in the laboratory. Pharmacological experiments with LSD-25 on animals
showed that their behavior was unsettled during anaesthesia. No further
effects could be ascertained. Five years later, Hofmann decided to reexamine the substance, and on April 19, 1943, he carried out his legendary
self-experiment, by which he proved the psychotropic effects of this partially synthesized alkaloid. LSD-25 marked the birth of psychopharmacology, which led to the discoveries of the neurotransmitters serotonin and
dopamine in the following decades. LSD research suffered a heavy setback
when the psychedelic substance was caught up in the wave of recreational
drug use which accompanied the hippy movement from the mid-1960s.
The immediate postwar period From an economic point of view, the war had
a positive impact on Basel’s chemical industry. The production facilities
had not only survived the war intact, but in some cases had also been modernized, which meant they were well prepared for peacetime business.
Because the Basel chemical industry was virtually the only one in Europe
with fully functioning production facilities, it profited exceptionally from
the economic boom of the postwar years. Products from Basel were of high
quality and therefore in high demand. Only production capacities and the
availability of raw materials limited sales figures. In 1951, CIBA’s total sales
were four times higher than in 1939.
83
Sandoz New York. Payroll office.
June 1944.
Sandoz San Francisco
(California, USA). Secretariat.
1944.
Sandoz Paterson (New Jersey,
USA). Laboratory. 1944.
049
Carl Koechlin-Vischer (1889–1969).
May 17, 1968.
Having been educated at the Basel Humanist
Grammar School, the Neuchâtel Commercial School (Switzerland) and the Berlin Commercial College (Germany), Carl Koechlin
joined Geigy in 1908. After spending time in
New York, in 1914 he was named Deputy
Director and in 1918 Director. A year later he
was elected to the Board of Directors, and
was CEO from 1939. From 1949 to 1967,
he was Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Koechlin offered his services to numerous
economic organizations, including the
Swiss Federation of Trade and Industry
(now economiesuisse), the Swiss National
Bank and the Swiss Society of Chemical
Industries.
050
The Summit site (New Jersey, USA).
August 1946.
The CIBA subsidiary in Summit opened
in 1937 and became a leading provider in
the US pharmaceutical market during
the Second World War.
84
049
The Second World War and the early postwar period
1939 –1951
050
85
Sandoz Basel. Dye workers
emptying a filter press. 1950.
Sandoz Basel. Telephone
operator. 1940s.
Geigy Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
Delivery vehicle in front
of the warehouse entrance.
1951.
051
051
A can of Neocid and a can of Gesarol spray
from 1942.
052
Paul Hermann Müller (1899 –1965) being
awarded the Nobel Prize. December 10, 1948.
Geigy chemist Paul Müller, who discovered
the insecticidal properties of DDT, received
the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in
1948. The photo shows the Nobel Prize
winner in the Concert Hall in Stockholm
(Sweden) after receiving the certificate and
gold medal.
053
A mother in the New York borough of
Brooklyn disinfects her child’s room with a
can of Neocid, also used by the US Army.
1945.
86
052
The Second World War and the early postwar period
1939 –1951
053
87
Sandoz East Hanover
(New Jersey, USA). Laboratory
assistant. Between 1950
and 1952.
Geigy Basel. Color laboratory.
Early 1950s.
Geigy Schweizerhalle near Basel.
A consignment for the Red Cross.
1944.
CIBA Hong Kong. Laboratory. 1949.
054
Albert Hofmann (1906 –2008) and his
colleague W. Bischoff (at left in picture),
manufacturing the first large batches
of dihydroergotamine and Hydergin for
clinical trials. 1945.
Albert Hofmann was born in Baden (Switzerland), where he completed a commercial
apprenticeship at Brown, Boveri & Cie.
After passing his Matura (school-leaving
exams), he studied chemistry at the University of Zurich, gaining a doctorate with
distinction in 1929. From 1929 to 1971, he
worked as a research chemist at Sandoz in
Basel, for the last 15 years of which he headed up the department of natural products.
During his research into ergot alkaloids
he discovered the hallucinogenic properties
of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 1943.
His research led to the creation of medicines
such as Hydergin and Dihydergot and the
hallucinogen psilocybin. Hofmann was an
honorary member of numerous associations,
including the American Society of Pharmacognosy, and was awarded multiple honorary
doctorates.
055
British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery visits Geigy. 1950.
Montgomery’s official visit to Basel included
a tour of Geigy’s DDT laboratories. The photo
shows CEO Hartmann Koechlin-Ryhiner
(1893–1962) and Paul Müller explaining
an experiment cabinet (to the left; not in the
photo) in which the first flies had been
destroyed in 1939 using the new “miracle
pesticide”.
88
054
The Second World War and the early postwar period
1939 –1951
055
89
Sandoz Toronto (Canada).
General Secretariat. 1944.
CIBA Copenhagen (Denmark).
Commercial warehouse for
pharmaceutical products. 1948.
CIBA Copenhagen (Denmark).
Accounting. 1948.
056
Analytical balance, Sandoz East Hanover
(New Jersey, USA). Between 1950 and 1952.
057
Sandoz branch in Los Angeles (California,
USA). Around 1944.
058
The CIBA administrative building in Viale
Premuda after Milan (Italy) had suffered heavy
bombardment. August 1943.
90
056
The Second World War and the early postwar period
1939 –1951
057
058
91
The battlei
against Malariai
From cinchona bark toi
global partnershipsi
Malaria (from the Italian mala aria, “bad air”) is an infectious disease spread
via the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. Infected females transmit a parasite known as Plasmodium which multiplies in the liver and then attacks red
blood cells. Malaria is the most common parasitic infection in the world (in
2009 it was contracted by 250 million people) and occurs primarily in the
poorest countries. Without treatment, malaria leads among other things to
circulatory problems, which can be fatal.
A predecessor company of Novartis first dealt with malaria in the
1810s. Among the colonial products sold by Hieronymus Geigy (1771–1830)
was cinchona, which had been known to be effective against malaria since
the 17th century. Originally coming from South America, this remedy was
used to treat “stomach illnesses and fever”. In 1824, quinine was isolated
from cinchona. The Geigy company was among the first buyers of this new
pure substance, whose advantage was that it enabled standardized treatment and more precise dosage for malaria patients.
In addition to the draining of marshland, the discovery and industrial
production of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) at Geigy during the
Second World War was a key milestone in the battle against malaria. Use of
this product wiped out malaria in the USA, Canada and Europe in particular.
In Italy alone, almost 300,000 people died of malaria in 1946; by 1950 there
was not one fatality. DDT was banned in the 1970s due to environmental
concerns. Later, the World Health Organization (WHO) reassessed DDT and
ultimately, in 2006, authorized restricted use of the product inside buildings
in order to reduce the number of infections in regions where malaria is epidemic.
The development of resistance in Anopheles mosquitoes and malaria
parasites is hampering the treatment and eradication of this disease. For
this reason, improving malaria treatments – which in some cases have become ineffective – is a top priority. Novartis achieved an important innovation here with the launch of Coartem in 1999. The active substances in this
drug are lumefantrine, a molecule which is effective against malaria, and
artemether. Artemether is a derivative of artemisinin, which is isolated from
Artemisia, a plant very well known in Chinese medicine. The components of
Coartem are not related to quinine, meaning that they are also effective
against chloroquine-resistant malaria pathogens. The traditional malaria
drug chloroquine has lost more than 50 per cent of its efficacy. For this reason, the WHO recommends a combination therapy using artemisinin derivates as first-line treatment for malaria. Scientific studies show that Coartem is the most effective treatment today, leading to recovery in over 95 per
cent of cases. But regardless of how effective a medicine is, it can only
make a difference if it reaches the people who need it most. For this reason,
Novartis has been campaigning on the front line for over ten years to ensure
1
A Greek building after treatment with DDT.
1946.
92
that even the poorest people gain access to Coartem. In 2001, a not-forprofit partnership with the WHO was unveiled – the “Novartis Malaria Initiative”. Novartis undertook to supply the WHO with Coartem at cost price.
1
93
2
Artemisia planter. 2012.
Novartis is working with around 100,000
farmers in China who grow Artemisia annua.
This plant is essential for the production
of effective malaria medicines.
As a result, authorities in 60 of the world’s poorest countries received over
3
Raising awareness of malaria. 2011.
A teacher in a Kenyan village school
familiarizes the children with the prevention
and correct treatment of malaria.
400 million treatments, and more than a million lives have been saved. This
public-private initiative met with great acclaim. In 2010, it was honored with
the World Business and Development Award from the United Nations Development Programme and the International Chamber of Commerce.
The battle against malaria is also a top priority of the Novartis Foun-
dation for Sustainable Development. In Tanzania, for example, the ACCESS
health programme has been in operation since 2003. One of its goals is better access to accurate information and correct treatment. To achieve this,
the programme focuses on optimizing the training of healthcare workers in
rural areas and raising awareness of the disease among the population,
particularly women and schoolchildren. Prevention, recognition of symptoms and quick diagnosis, followed by correct treatment, are the key factors that lead to success.
Novartis is also committed to the battle against malaria in its re-
search work. Since 2003, over one hundred scientists at the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) in Singapore have been concentrating on
developing new treatments for tropical diseases like malaria and dengue
fever. However, tackling such a widespread disease requires cooperation on
a global scale. Only by means of additional partnerships between private
and public organizations, intensified efforts by NGOs (non-governmental
organizations), expansion of prevention and healthcare programmes, and
further research and innovation will it be possible to rid the world of this
scourge.
94
2
3
95
6
Two decades of growth
Global expansion and a marriage
1950–1970
The economies of the West grew by leaps and bounds in the 1950s and
1960s. This ongoing boom brought about a phenomenal increase in the
sales of the Basel chemical companies, with figures soaring from millions
of Swiss francs into the billions. The Basel companies set up a network of
sales channels, production sites and research centers around the globe
and gained a foothold in new business sectors.
Sandoz on a global expansion course Sandoz is a striking example of the
globalization of the Basel companies in the middle of the century. After the
end of the Second World War, Sandoz set up companies one by one in India,
Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Canada, Venezuela, Sweden,
Argentina and Uruguay. In 1956, the group had 19 subsidiaries abroad. By
1966, the number of foreign subsidiaries had risen to almost 40, and now
included Australia, Cuba, New Zealand, Japan, Morocco, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Finland. Sandoz did not follow longterm or even medium-term strategies in these new markets: in the general
economic upswing, everything was more or less improvised. In 1963, a
pharmaceutical distribution department was set up which encompassed
marketing consultancy, market research, product management, specialist medical consultancy, planning, journals, translation and four country
units. This structure was designed to ensure more intensive management
of markets and products.
Pharmaceuticals become a boom business The quarter century following
the end of the war was a phase of enormous growth for the pharmaceutical
industry in all western industrial nations. The Pharmaceuticals Divisions
of CIBA and Sandoz became their strongest business segments. Between
1945 and 1960, CIBA increased its sales in this area from around 100 million
Swiss francs to over 500 million. These high growth rates can be attributed
to various factors: on the demand side, rising prosperity and the expansion
of the health insurance sector were crucial. In the USA, the most important
sales market for medicines, the number of insured persons increased tenfold between 1940 and 1960, from just over 12 million to more than 120 million. On the supply side, increasing public and private research investment
boosted the rate of innovation throughout the sector. From the late 1940s
onwards, the number of medicines launched each year rose considerably.
The industry introduced a broad spectrum of new antibiotics, allergy medications, sedatives, chemotherapy agents, cardiovascular medicines, psychotropics, analgesics, steroid hormones and vitamin products to the market.
Production is decentralized In the 1950s and 1960s, the booming Basel
chemical industry greatly expanded its production base in Switzerland and
abroad. Two objectives lay behind these investments in the pharmaceutical
business: first, the few existing chemical factories were to be upgraded,
as they were having to produce ever-increasing quantities of active substances. Second, the pharmaceutical sector needed to have a large number of production facilities around the world in order to supply local mar98
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
kets. Another reason for building new production sites abroad was that
more and more countries – especially the non-industrialized ones – had introduced customs duties, exchange regulations and import licenses with
the aim of ensuring that, if possible, everything from the active substance
through to the finished product would be produced in their own country.
Research and development move abroad The Basel chemical industry had
been internationally active in sales and production for some time, and now
it also began to cross national borders in its research and development
work. From the 1950s onwards, CIBA massively expanded its US research
and development activities in Summit (New Jersey, USA). In India, it opened
a basic research center for dyestuffs and pharmaceuticals in Goregaon
near Mumbai (India) in 1963. In late 1959, Geigy purchased a laboratory building for organic chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology in Ardsley (New
York). This step enabled the company to pursue its own pharmaceutical research in the USA. Sandoz followed suit five years later, building a pharmaceutical research center in East Hanover (New Jersey, USA) in 1964.1970
saw the inauguration of the Sandoz Research Institute in Vienna (Austria).
New diversifications open up new markets At the end of the 1950s, CIBA
entered the photochemistry, electronic equipment and animal health sectors. Sandoz acquired the Austrian company Biochemie GmbH in Kundl in
1963, thereby gaining a foothold in the antibiotics and biotechnology sector. In 1967, Sandoz laid the foundations of its nutrition business when it
merged with Wander in Bern (Switzerland). This merger also expanded its
own pharmaceutical range and allowed it to take over a broad, well-established international distribution organization. Rather out of necessity than
voluntarily, the company also entered the hospital supply sector, as a Canadian subsidiary of Wander also joined Sandoz as part of the merger. With
annual sales of some 40 million Swiss francs in the hospital supply business, this subsidiary was nevertheless making almost zero profit. Sandoz
acquired numerous smaller firms from 1969, thereby rapidly expanding the
new segment.
Sandoz expands its headquarters In 1940, the three partners in Basler IG
had together secured a majority holding in the long-standing company Durand & Huguenin. The new owners did not want to strengthen a competitor
further, so Durand & Huguenin continued to restrict its activities to the dyestuffs business. As that sector continued to decline, the company had few
prospects for the future and was integrated into neighboring Sandoz in
1969. As a result, Sandoz gained an extra area of some 29,000 square
metres, a useful addition to the Basel site.
The “Basel marriage”: CIBA and Geigy merge Both CIBA and Sandoz were
expanding thanks to their pharmaceutical business. The spectacular rates
of growth recorded by Geigy, however, were all due to its highly successful
agrochemicals, which achieved terrific sales, especially in the USA. Between 1956 and 1966, group sales had risen from 511 million Swiss francs to
almost 2 billion Swiss francs. In 1967, the company caught up with CIBA in
99
terms of sales, and figures surged to 2.7 billion Swiss francs in 1968. At the
Board of Directors meeting of March 28, 1969, Geigy Chairman Louis von
Planta acknowledged the excellent fiscal year and forecast a further upturn in the near future. However, the coming years would also bring enormous challenges, he said. “In this respect,” von Planta warned, “we are facing two dangers: the enormous cost explosion, in particular in the research
sector, and growing pressure from competitors, not only from the large
German, British and American chemical companies, but also from the oil
industry, which has access to virtually unlimited resources. The problem
for the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee is this: how can we
guarantee the growth that is essential to survive in such a competitive environment?” Von Planta saw the solution in a closer collaboration with
another Basel company. Sandoz had signaled “a certain willingness to enter into a precisely defined collaboration in specific areas, but not an allencompassing cooperation agreement”. CIBA, on the other hand, had indicated “spontaneous willingness to enter into an extremely wide-ranging
collaboration”. Two weeks later, the Boards of CIBA and Geigy announced
that they were looking into a possible merger of their companies in more
detail. On October 20, 1970, shareholders in the two companies approved
the merger agreement at respective extraordinary general meetings.
Some criticism was voiced before the merger, however, in particular
on the Geigy side. On April 5, 1969, Geigy Board member Johann Jakob
Vischer (1914–1985) wrote to von Planta. He emphasized that Geigy had
developed a management style which gave it an edge over other companies
and “of which we are all a little proud. It would be a great pity if that were to
be lost.” The collaboration did indeed prove to be difficult, as the two
companies had developed completely different cultures. For a long time,
the newly merged Ciba-Geigy workforce remained loyal to either the former Geigy or to the former CIBA – including all of their practices, cliques,
procedures and products.
The foundation of the Friedrich Miescher Institute (FMI) During the merger
negotiations with Geigy, CIBA decided to set up an institute for basic research in the field of biology. This was partly as a reaction to a local competitor who had taken a similar step: in 1967, Roche had founded an institute for basic biomedical research in the USA, and had set up another in
Switzerland just one year later. This caused a certain amount of anxiety
among the other three Basel chemical companies. On April 10, 1970, CIBA
and Geigy signed a charter describing the tasks of the institute, which was
named after the Basel-based physician and physiologist Friedrich Miescher, the man who discovered nucleic acid. These tasks included training
young scientists and conducting basic biomedical research. Right from the
start, the FMI placed great emphasis on acting out its role as a bridge between universities and industry, something which the Roche institutes took
upon themselves too.
100
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
Geigy Porto (Portugal). Experimental dyeworks.
Between 1952 and 1953.
Sandoz Mexico City. Canteen.
1952.
CIBA Horsham (UK). Tube filling in
Building 12. May 1953.
S.A. Española de Colorantes
Sintéticos in Hospitalet
near Barcelona (Spain), a Sandoz
holding. Laboratory.
Probably 1964.
CIBA Wehr (Germany). Dyeworks.
1960s.
059
Headquarters of Sandoz de México S.A.
in Mexico City. June 6, 1952.
060
Laboratory at the CIBA site in Stein
(Switzerland). Around 1960.
CIBA built a new pharmaceutical production
site in Stein in 1957. It went on to
become the company’s most important
pharmaceutical factory.
102
059
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
060
103
Geigy Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
Entrance to the pharmaceutical
department on the 6th floor
of the Edifício Mayapan.
Around 1953.
Geigy Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
An employee filling pesticide.
1956.
CIBA Copenhagen (Denmark).
Analytical pharmaceutical
laboratory. 1960s.
CIBA Copenhagen (Denmark).
Goods dispatch. 1960s.
CIBA Copenhagen (Denmark).
Invoicing. 1960s.
061
Opening of the CIBA Research Center in
Goregaon near Mumbai (India). March 21,
1963.
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
opened the new research center established
by CIBA and described this investment in
his speech as a valuable contribution
to the establishment of science and industry
in India.
062 | 063
Geigy Chemical Corporation Inc., Ardsley
(New York).1956.
In 1956, Geigy USA moved from the oldfashioned Barclay Street in New York to the
ultramodern buildings of its new head
office in Ardsley. Since the entire building
complex had been redesigned and constructed from scratch, every department was
able to have specific rooms tailored to its
needs.
104
061
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
062
063
105
Sandoz Basel. Color laboratory.
November 1957.
Sandoz Basel. Crystallization of
cardiac glycosides in Building 316.
1956.
Sandoz Basel. Enjoying a break
on the roof of the packaging
factory (Building 310). Probably
1959.
Sandoz Nuremberg (Germany).
Ampoule station. 1960.
064
Parasitology laboratory (snail breeding)
at the Sandoz Research Institute in Vienna
(Austria). Early 1970s.
065
Electron beam recorder at the Ilford
processing plant in Basildon (UK). 1970.
In 1969, CIBA acquired the remaining share
capital in the British photographic company
Ilford, having owned a holding in the
company since 1966.
106
064
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
065
107
Geigy Manchester (UK).
Depilating a hide in the leather
department. 1959.
Geigy Schweizerhalle near Basel.
Shift workers enjoying a break.
1958.
Sandoz Lima (Peru). Early 1965.
Sandoz Lima (Peru). Early 1965.
066
Melleril packaging. 1980s.
Sandoz launched the neuroleptic Melleril
in 1958. This new medicine was highly
effective for a wide range of psychoses and
was well tolerated. Melleril gained
acceptance in clinical and outpatient
psychiatric treatment as an efficient
sedative for a broad spectrum of indications.
In the 1960s and 1970s, it made a major
contribution to the sales of the Sandoz
Pharmaceuticals Division. In 1980, it was still
the primary neuroleptic on the global market.
066
067
Pharmaceutical products from Wander.
Between 1940 and 1970.
The Swiss industrial company Wander AG
from Bern manufactured special foodstuffs
(dietetics, in particular malt products,
sports and infant nutrition and slimming
products) and pharmaceuticals focused
on the areas of pain relief, colds,
gastrointestinal disorders, skin diseases,
rheumatic disorders and psychiatry.
067
068
Ovaltine/Ovomaltine range. 1991.
The best-known and strongest-selling
product in the Wander nutrition business
was the malt drink Ovaltine/Ovomaltine,
which was launched in 1904.
069
Fermenter systems for performing microbiological processes at Sandoz in Kundl
(Austria). Probably 1966.
108
068
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
069
109
Geigy Basel. Checking the color
shades of carpet wool. 1965.
Geigy Basel. Pest control
research. 1966.
070
Printed menu “Lunch d’adieu .. à CIBA –
(Ré) action de collaborateurs – 19 octobre
1970.” October 1970.
071
Louis Fortunat von Planta (1917–2003). 1974.
Louis von Planta attended the Basel Humanist Grammar School and went on to study law
at the University of Basel. In 1939, he took
his doctoral and bar exams. He was a partner
at a Basel lawyer’s and notary’s office
from 1946 to 1967. In 1965, he was elected to
the Geigy Board of Directors, becoming its
Chairman in 1968. He acted as a driving force
behind the merger of CIBA and Geigy.
From 1972 to 1987, he was Chairman and CEO
of Ciba-Geigy, and became Honorary Chairman
after that. In 1973, he was awarded an
honorary doctorate by the University
of Fribourg (Switzerland) and, in 1986, the
Friendship Prize of the American-Swiss
Association. As Chairman of the Swiss
Federation of Trade and Industry (now
economiesuisse) from 1976 to 1987, Louis von
Planta gave lasting service to the Swiss
economy. Thanks to his wealth of experience
and contacts, he made a vital contribution
to preparing the merger of Ciba and Sandoz
to form Novartis. From 1996 to 2003,
he was Honorary Chairman of Novartis.
072
Robert Käppeli (1900 –2000). 1948.
Robert Käppeli was born in Lucerne (Switzerland). After completing his commercial
training, he studied macroeconomics in Basel,
earning a doctorate in 1928. He then worked
as an assistant at the Institute for the
World Economy and Maritime Traffic in Kiel
(Germany) and as Secretary to the directors
of the Warburg Bank in Hamburg (Germany).
He joined CIBA as secretary to the Board
of Directors in 1934, becoming head of the
finance department in 1939 and CEO in 1946.
In 1956, he was promoted to Chairman of
the CIBA Board of Directors. Käppeli was the
first Chairman of Ciba-Geigy from 1970 to 1972,
then Honorary Chairman of the Board and,
from 1996, Honorary Chairman of Novartis.
He was a member of several Boards of
Directors and various art committees. He was
awarded honorary doctorates by the Federal
Institute of Technology in Zurich and the Swiss
universities of Fribourg and Basel.
110
070
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
071
072
111
CIBA Osaka (Japan).
Packing Ritalin. Probably 1962.
CIBA Origgio (Italy).
Dyestuff laboratory. 1964.
CIBA Origgio (Italy).
Dyestuff laboratory. 1965.
073
Ritalin packaging. 1960s.
Methylphenidate, a substance synthesized
in the research laboratories at CIBA in
1944, was launched in 1954 as a stimulant
under the trade name of Ritalin. Contemporary product information recommended
the drug “for increased fatigability,
lack of concentration, memory lapses
with insufficient coordination and association ability (arteriosclerosis), depressive
moods (e.g. reactive climacteric or
convalescent depression), avolition and
narcolepsy”.
073
074
Origgio (Italy). Office building.1964.
In 1965, CIBA moved its head office in Italy
from Milan to the nearby town of Origgio.
The new buildings were constructed on the
basis of the very latest architectural and
functional criteria.
075
Origgio (Italy). Open-plan office. 1965.
Origgio had open-plan offices. To reduce
noise to a minimum, sound-absorbing
material was used for the ceilings, the floors
were covered with wall-to-wall carpets
and all metal furniture was removed,
as were typewriters and calculators that did
not function quietly enough. Furthermore,
the individual working groups were separated by half-height cupboards and numerous
plants.
112
00
074
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
075
113
Geigy Basel. Laboratory technician
training facility. 1961.
Geigy Basel. Shorthand typists.
Probably 1962.
Sandoz Basel. Kitchen in staff
restaurant. 1965.
076
CIBA Lisbon (Portugal). Administration
building constructed in 1961. January 1964.
077
CIBA Dorval (Canada). Canteen. 1960s.
114
076
Two decades of growth
1950 –1970
077
115
Geigy Designi
The dynamic growth of Geigy led to the foundation of a group-wide “public-
Good design for good businessi
ity department” in 1941, which was renamed as the advertising department
in 1966. The turning point was the launch campaign for the industrial mothproofing agent Mitin in 1939. For the first time in its history, the company –
which had specialized in dyestuffs until the 1920s – was faced with the
challenge of appealing not just to industrial customers but also to private
households. An agency was commissioned, but the advertising slogan it
came up with failed to hit the mark with the public. This unsuccessful campaign prompted the conclusion that the company needed its own advertising specialists, and the emergence of intensively marketed Geigy pharmaceutical products made a central publicity department seem absolutely
essential. The job of setting up this department was entrusted to René
Rudin (1911–1992), who managed it until 1970. His advertising policy was
based on five principles, which he outlined in 1944:
1. Our publicity must maintain a factual tone for all products.
2. To ensure the necessary penetration, we must employ suitable suggestive elements, tailored carefully to the consumer group being targeted.
3.We must ensure that certain artistic standards are maintained, by
means of immaculate typographical design, high quality image material
and flawless reproduction in printed form.
4.All printed material leaving our company and all our other statements
must express the trustworthiness of the name Geigy, thereby functioning
as goodwill publicity above and beyond their immediate purpose.
5.We must strive to give our publicity its own special character, with the
goal of gradually creating a typical Geigy style.
To avoid the danger that internal advertising experts (in contrast to
external agencies) would sooner or later fall into a routine and develop a
blinkered attitude, Rudin always kept things fresh in his department: his
team employed young, talented graphic artists, designers, editors and filmmakers, and also used the services of freelance photographers and artists
for certain tasks. The studio at the firm’s headquarters maintained close
ties with the Basel General Vocational School in particular, promoting a
lively exchange between design training and practice. This was an important factor in turning Basel into a pool of talent which helped spread Swiss
graphic design around the world and give it international recognition.
The development and quality of graphics and advertising at Geigy re-
1
Portfolio for Documenta Geigy /Animales
dormidos (“sleeping animals”).
Gottfried Honegger. 1955.
sulted mainly from astute HR policies, and not from prescribed design
2
Advertising card for the antipruritic Eurax.
Andreas His. 1956.
in the USA and the UK, as well as in Spain, Italy, Canada and Australia, al-
3
Envelope for the company newspaper
“Geigy Catalyst” no. 16. Fred Troller. 1964.
116
guidelines. In the three decades from 1941 to 1970, over 50 designers were
employed internally or as freelancers at the Basel headquarters. A further
two dozen or so worked primarily in the 1960s for the studios of subsidiaries
though these countries only had small advertising teams.
“Solutions which make the abstract concrete and understandable.”
That was how the specialist publication of 1967, Chemie, Werbung und Grafik
(“Chemistry, Advertising and Graphic Design”), defined the core task of pro-
2
1
3
117
4
Envelope for an Irgapyrine brochure
(against inflammatory irritations of the eye).
Igildo Biesele. 1953–1956.
5
Blotting board (promotional gift for
physicians) for the anti-fungal Sterosan.
Nelly Rudin. 1952.
6
Insert for process yellow 4GL.
Toshihiro Katayama. 1963–1964.
moting chemical and pharmaceutical achievements. Medicines for a broad
range of indications, textile care products and pesticides differ at most in
terms of their form; our senses do not directly perceive their effect. Their
benefit is an abstract concept for the consumer and using them requires a
great deal of trust, which is derived from the manufacturer’s image.
These specific circumstances unlocked extraordinary design poten-
tial among the Geigy graphic artists of the 1950s and early 1960s. In most
cases, it was expressed in a distinctly modern formal language which does
not seem schematic or formulaic but remains fresh, flexible and individual.
As a result, design personalities such as Max Schmid, Karl Gerstner, Gottfried Honegger, Nelly Rudin, Roland Aeschlimann and Toshihiro Katayama
created a corporate diversity that provided a platform for pictorial symbolism and incisive typography and also for lessons in non-representational
art. The designs, which were soon referred to as being in the “Geigy style”,
are characterized by reduction to a few elements, generous use of white
space, equal use of graphics and photography, strong lines, stark contrasts
between dark, light and color, geometric construction, unusual materials
and processing techniques, and the almost exclusive use of sans serif fonts.
Geigy’s industrial design was soon looked upon as a new benchmark:
in 1967, Princeton University began an exhibition series on modern graphic
design. The first show was entitled “Geigy Graphics” and primarily presented works by Geigy USA under Fred Troller.
118
4
5
6
119
Tofranili
The research on psychological changes carried out in the 1930s only bore
A revolution in treatingi
fruit after the Second World War. In 1952, surgeon Henri Laborit discovered
depression i
by chance that the molecule chlorpromazine alleviates shock caused by
surgery and improves the mood of postoperative patients. Consequently,
psychiatrists began to use chlorpromazine to treat unsettled patients. It
was the first in the class of medicines known as neuroleptics, and enabled
use of the straitjacket – which was customary at the time – to be avoided.
Geigy, too, was involved in researching the efficacy of chlorpromazine. In
1953, Swiss psychiatrist Roland Kuhn asked Geigy to provide him with psychotropic substances to treat his schizophrenia patients at the Münsterlingen Cantonal Hospital (Switzerland). He was given samples of imipramine,
a compound which had a tricyclic structure similar to that of chlorpromazine and which had been described by the Geigy pharmacologists. Kuhn
tested the substance for two years and ascertained that it did not have the
expected neuroleptic effect. After treatment of 150 patients, however, an
antidepressive effect became apparent. In September 1957, Kuhn presented the findings of his clinical tests at the second World Congress of Psychiatry in Zurich. One year later, imipramine, under the name Tofranil, became the first antidepressant to be launched. It was soon established
globally as a well-tolerated standard treatment for endogenous depression
or melancholia, and triggered a genuine revolution in psychiatry. Before the
launch of Tofranil, depression patients had to spend long periods in clinics
and were often treated with electroshock therapy, as the only options were
to stimulate or sedate them; it was impossible to restore their overall equilibrium and normalize their mood. With an efficacy rate of over 80 per cent,
Tofranil was, for a long time, the gold standard in treatment of all types of
depression, allowing a significant reduction in the number of inpatient
treatments.
Based on these experiences, further research by Geigy led to the dis-
covery of another substance with significant potential: chlorimipramine. It
was presented to psychiatrists at a congress in 1961, and met with great
acclaim. After five-year trials in renowned clinics, the new tricyclic was
brought onto the market in 1966 under the name Anafranil. In addition to
depression, this medicine is used to treat conditions such as obsessivecompulsive disorder, panic attacks, agoraphobia, certain types of bedwetting in children and neuropathic pain. Anafranil has proved to be an
extremely effective medicine which brings about high remission rates.
In 1972, Ciba-Geigy launched the product Ludiomil. It contained a new
substance called maprotiline, a tetracyclic indicated for treating various
types of depression. It helps to restore high-quality sleep and reduces
anxiety, although it is not employed specifically in the treatment of panic
1–4
Watercolors by draughtsman and illustrator
Tomi Ungerer on the topic of depression.
1972. © Tomi Ungerer/Diogenes Verlag AG,
Zurich.
120
attacks. In the last 50 years, the therapeutic spectrum of depression treatment has widened significantly, but tri- and tetracyclics – although they
are prescribed less often than in the past – still represent a reliable alternative.
1
2
3
4
121
Voltareni
Rheumatism comes in many different forms. This chronic disease, still in-
A classic treatment fori
curable, involves a large number of painful inflammatory disorders of the
rheumatism and paini
joints, vertebrae, muscles, tendons and connective tissue.
Rheumatic symptoms were described as early as the 5th century BC
by Greek physician and scholar Hippocrates of Kos. In those days, the juice
of willow bark (Salix species) was the treatment of choice. The first medicines for rheumatic complaints were only created at the end of the 19th
century, however. In 1828, the willow bark extract salicin was isolated, which
the body metabolizes into biologically active salicylic acid. From 1874, this
substance was manufactured industrially at Dr. F. von Heyden’s salicylic
acid factories in Dresden (Germany) and Radebeul (Germany) and sold as a
medicine. Owing to its side effects and bitter taste, further research was
carried out. In 1897, the main Bayer factory in Elberfeld (now Wuppertal,
Germany) managed to produce the structurally related acetylsalicylic acid
– first synthesized by Charles Frédéric Gerhardt in 1853 – in pure form. Bayer called the product Aspirin and had it patented in 1899. Acetylsalicylic
acid turned out to be very useful for therapeutic purposes. However, in the
20th century, new substances with superior analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties emerged.
From 1953 to 1964, Geigy led the market for antirheumatics with its
product Butazolidin (from phenylbutazone, which was discovered in 1946).
When US pharmaceutical group Merck presented the one hundred times
more active indomethacin in 1964, Geigy began the search for a new, highly
active and well-tolerated anti-inflammatory. First, Geigy chemists compared known non-steroidal antirheumatics. Due to remarkable physicochemical similarities, it was possible to define crucial basic structural
requirements for a new substance. When, during the development phase in
1966, this drug proved to be poorly tolerated by rats and dogs – as had also
been the case with clinically active indomethacin – the group leader decided to try it out on himself. A two-day trial of the new active substance diclofenac caused no complications and encouraged Geigy to push ahead with its
development. Tolerability studies in healthy volunteers and the subsequent
clinical trial confirmed the substance’s activity and tolerability. Ciba-Geigy
launched the product in Japan and Switzerland under the brand name
Voltaren in 1974. Since then, it has become established in over 140 countries
as a reliable medication for all forms of rheumatism and numerous conditions involving acute pain and inflammation. With 200,000 participants in
1
Title page of a specialist Voltaren brochure
for Austria. December 1976.
clinical trials and over a billion patients treated, it is one of the best-studied
2
Some of the many dosage forms of Voltaren
over the years: sugar-coated tablets,
ampoules and emulsion gel from Geigy, and
emulsion gel, slow-release sugar-coated
tablets and eye drops (Voltaren Ophtha)
from Novartis.
ensure individually tailored medical care and contribute to the product’s
122
medicines in the world. Its numerous dosages and dosage forms (including
ampoules, eye drops, emulsion gels, patches, tablets and suppositories)
continuing popularity.
1
2
123
7
first one merger, then another
Focus instead of diversification
1970–1996
The 1973 oil crisis brought the longstanding economic boom in the western
industrialized nations to an end. What followed was recession, inflation and
currency turmoil. A new wave of globalization set in around 1980, which intensified in the 1990s. Companies striving for profitable growth were forced
to set clear priorities and maintain a consistent international focus.
Diversification – the magic formula of the 1970s In the recession of the
1970s, both Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz sought new ways of spreading risks rationally. The two companies examined numerous diversification options. In
1971, Sandoz entered the fitness business, acquiring a majority stake in
John Valentine. The Executive Committee saw in this project “the only immediately realizable diversification opportunity” for the pharmaceutical
department, but the undertaking failed and was dropped a few years later.
In 1974, Ciba-Geigy acquired Airwick Industries in Carlstadt (New Jersey,
USA), a manufacturer of air fresheners, disinfectants and cleaning agents
for households and large-scale consumers as well as of chemicals for
swimming pools. In 1974, Ciba-Geigy entered the seeds business, a move
followed by Sandoz in 1975.
The recession of the 1970s: a slump in the industrial divisions The pharmaceutical business proved to be largely resistant to economic fluctuations. Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz survived the recessions of the 1970s relatively
unscathed. The oil crisis did not hit the corporations as a whole particularly
hard, although energy costs did rise considerably. Only the industrial divisions – in other words dyestuffs, chemicals, plastics, additives and pigments – faced serious problems with the supply of raw materials. The
strength of the Swiss franc also took its toll on business: between 1973 and
October 1978, the US$ exchange rate fell from 4.375 Swiss francs to 1.45
Swiss francs. Within the companies, it was the industrial divisions which
suffered the worst dip in sales and profits as a result of the recession, a
development which, over the long term, sealed their decline in the group
hierarchies.
Sandoz cuts personnel costs: the overhead value analysis The economic
environment changed radically in the 1970s. Sandoz’s return on equity fell
by more than half over the course of the decade. The results of this downward trend were particularly apparent at head office, which housed key research and production departments as well as various functions of the
group headquarters. In 1976, personnel costs stood at 32 per cent of head
office revenue, but by 1980 this figure had risen to 36.6 per cent. Sandoz
was the first large European company to decide to reduce its administrative
expenditure long-term. Consultancy firm McKinsey carried out an overhead
value analysis at the Basel headquarters in 1981, with the aim of identifying
weak points in the business in order to increase productivity and efficiency.
All key functions and work processes were placed under critical scrutiny.
The results showed that the departments examined could reduce their personnel by more than 15 per cent without weakening the company’s performance. This generated considerable cost savings, with staff numbers being
126
first one merger, then another
1970 –1996
reduced primarily by means of natural attrition and early retirements. The
resources this released were then used for targeted acquisitions, which
boosted Sandoz’s ability to compete.
Diversifications in the 1980s In 1980, Ciba-Geigy group management began
to restructure in two directions. Firstly, it cut back activities with few prospects of generating a profit in the long term. Secondly, it sought out and
entered new, lucrative areas for investment such as the precision balances
and contact lens sectors, rapidly expanding both areas in the years that
followed. Sandoz took over a US and a Japanese company in the construction chemicals sector in 1985, before acquiring a US environmental technology company in 1988. One year later, Sandoz combined the construction
chemicals and environmental technology sectors into an independent division under the company name MBT Holding.
The Schweizerhalle blaze In the early hours of November 1, 1986, there was
a fire in a warehouse at the Sandoz site in Schweizerhalle near Basel. A disaster alert was sounded in the Basel region – the population was in shock.
The water used to fight the fire washed tonnes of pollutants, mainly insecticides, into the Rhine, causing environmental damage as far downstream as
the Netherlands. According to the official inquiry, the fire had been caused
by glowing particles of the chemical Prussian blue. The blaze at the Schweizerhalle site undermined belief in the safety of the chemical industry. It
happened just a few months after the devastating nuclear disaster in Chernobyl (Ukraine) and destroyed the myth that such technology-related catastrophes were impossible in Switzerland.
The chemical industry, the authorities and politicians all drew im-
portant lessons from the Schweizerhalle blaze. The chemical industry optimized its risk reduction measures. Legal regulations and checks were
tightened, and the chemical and biological monitoring of water quality intensified. Sandoz also set up the “Rhine Fund”, which financed 36 scientific
projects on the Rhine ecosystem. An overall evaluation shows that the
water quality and the biological condition of the Rhine as a whole have
improved considerably in the years since the disaster.
Biotechnology: external knowledge for internal research The first biotechnology companies began emerging in the USA in the mid-1970s; shortly afterwards, they were springing up like mushrooms. This was a result of considerable advances in molecular genetics and the interest of venture capital
firms in new opportunities. Another boost for these new companies was the
change in the legal framework in 1980, when the US Supreme Court authorized the patenting of genetically modified organisms. Numerous pending
patent applications were quickly granted. Initially, the young companies
were short of production capacity and sales outlets. In addition, they were
not sufficiently familiar with official approval procedures for new products,
and therefore sought contact with the major chemical-pharmaceutical
companies. By the same token, the pharmaceutical industry was also interested in collaborating with the biotech firms, as they could provide impor127
tant information on the latest developments in biomedical research. From
the mid-1980s, Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy worked closely with the biotech
companies, in the area of agricultural biotechnology too. In 1986, CibaGeigy and the Californian genetic engineering company Chiron founded
a joint venture by the name of Biocine, which developed and sold new
vaccines. In 1995, Sandoz acquired the US company Genetic Therapy, with
which it had been pursuing joint research projects since 1991.
Ciba and Sandoz switch their focus In the late 1980s, Ciba-Geigy revised its
corporate self-image and formulated a new corporate philosophy, which it
named Vision 2000. This placed social and environmental goals on an equal
footing with economic objectives. In strategic terms, the company – named
Ciba from 1992 – remained dedicated to broad diversification, with a strong
parent company running and supporting the national subsidiaries worldwide from the head office. Sandoz also sought a new orientation: in 1990, it
abandoned its head-office-based structure in favor of becoming a holding
company – all divisions became independent business units which acted
as economically autonomous stock corporations. In making this change,
Sandoz was not just implementing a new organizational model; far more,
it was launching a trend which would shape the future. It gradually began
to focus all its activities on the areas of pharmaceuticals, nutrition and
agribusiness, with low-priority business lines being outsourced. In 1994,
Sandoz acquired Gerber Products, the leading baby food manufacturer in
the USA. The following year it spun off its Chemicals Division, which included dyestuffs, to form the listed company Clariant.
A coup that came out of nowhere: Sandoz and Ciba join forces The dynamic
reorientation processes inspired the management of Sandoz to think in
even greater dimensions: acquisition, collaboration or merger? Chairman of
the Board Marc Moret (1923–2006) considered the various options – first in
Europe, then in the USA – and established initial contacts. At the same
time, he also looked at the possibilities for new partnerships in Switzerland
and ordered internal studies on the matter. These pointed to the significant
synergy potential of Sandoz and Ciba, especially in the areas of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and seeds. Moret decided to arrange a semi-official
exploratory meeting with Ciba, which took place in his office on November 30, 1995. Moret’s discussion partner was Louis von Planta, Honorary
Chairman of Ciba. The talks were encouraging, and on December 4, 1995,
Alex Krauer, Chairman of the Board of Ciba, indicated that he would be very
interested in continuing the discussions. A plan of action was drawn up and
the team members required to implement the merger project were quickly
and discreetly nominated.
When Swiss radio station DRS announced the merger of Ciba and
Sandoz early in the morning of Thursday March 7, 1996, the presenter remarked that the report was no hoax. This unusual comment demonstrates
the incredulity with which the news was received. Managers and office and
production workers had expected further acquisitions, spin-offs and relo128
first one merger, then another
1970 –1996
cations of entire parts of the company, but that Ciba and Sandoz – two
companies with radically different corporate cultures – would agree to a
merger was an unparalleled surprise. In hindsight, the large-scale merger
seems to be both an expression and an accelerator of the global consolidation processes in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry.
129
Sandoz Nuremberg (Germany).
Packaging machinery. 1971.
Sandoz Kundl (Austria).
Work clothing. 1971.
Sandoz Dorval (Canada).
Pharmaceuticals warehouse. 1971.
Sandoz Tehran (Iran).
Packaging facilities. 1973.
Sandoz Istanbul (Turkey).
Quality control. 1973.
078
Grinding lenses at CIBA Vision in Atlanta
(Georgia, USA). 1988.
As part of its diversification policy, the CibaGeigy Pharmaceuticals Division entered
into the contact lens and lens care products
market in 1981. The vision care business
soon reached dimensions which justified making it independent, especially since the
synergy effects with the traditional pharmaceutical business were modest. The optical
lens and lens care products unit was separated from the Pharmaceuticals Division.
From 1987, it became the independent group
CIBA Vision.
079
Aerial photo of Basel including the St. Johann
(Sandoz) and Klybeck (Ciba-Geigy) sites. 1981.
130
078
first one merger, then another
1970 –1996
079
131
Ciba-Geigy Basel.
Commercial apprentice. 1977.
Ciba-Geigy Basel.
Commercial apprentice. 1977.
Sandoz Cabo Ruivo /Lisbon
(Portugal). Packaging Ovaltine/
Ovomaltine. May 1977.
Sandoz Bangkok (Thailand). 1983.
Sandoz Witterswil (Switzerland).
Agrobiological research station.
1984.
080
Production at Wasa in Filipstad (Sweden).
Probably 1994.
In 1982, Sandoz acquired the Swedish group
Wasa, the world’s largest manufacturer
of crispbread. This significantly strengthened
the position of the nutrition department
within the corporation.
081
Ferrari with red Ciba-Geigy pigment. 1990.
In 1986, the Plastics and Additives Division of
the Ciba-Geigy group launched a new red
pigment for automotive paints. The car paint
industry reacted quickly and positively.
132
080
first one merger, then another
1970 –1996
081
133
Ciba-Geigy Santiago de Chile.
Packaging. 1987.
Ciba-Geigy Kemps Creek /Sydney.
Agrochemical research laboratory.
1987.
Ciba-Geigy Manila (Philippines).
Reception. 1987.
Ciba-Geigy Athens (Greece).
Pharmaceutical production. 1988.
Ciba-Geigy Arnhem (Netherlands).
Dyestuff laboratory. 1988.
082
082
Chilean Nitroderm TTS brochure. 1983.
In 1978, Ciba-Geigy began collaborating with
US company ALZA Corporation. Together,
they developed three transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) products: Scopoderm
TTS for nausea and vomiting due to travel
sickness, Nitroderm TTS for long-term treatment of angina pectoris and Estraderm TTS
for alleviating postmenopausal complaints.
083
Interferon test at Ciba-Geigy. 1985.
084
Biotechnology research workers at CibaGeigy in Basel with a structural model of the
molecule interleukin-1 beta. 1990.
134
083
first one merger, then another
1970 –1996
084
135
CIBA Vision Atlanta (Georgia, USA).
Casting lenses. 1988.
Ciba-Geigy Isando / Johannesburg
(South Africa). Packaging. 1988.
Ciba-Geigy Origgio (Italy).
Gate staff. 1988.
Ciba-Geigy Rueil-Malmaison
(France). Canteen. 1989.
Ciba-Geigy Tongi (Bangladesh).
Staff training. 1990.
085
Sandoz production site in Ringaskiddy,
near Cork (Ireland) during construction. 1992.
In 1995, Sandoz opened what was at the
time the world’s most modern and environmentally friendly production site for active
pharmaceutical substances.
086
Marc Moret (1923–2006). 1986.
Marc Moret was born in Ménières (Switzerland) and studied economics in Fribourg
(Switzerland) and Paris, gaining a doctorate
in 1948. His career took him via various
medium- and large-sized companies
(including Nestlé) to Sandoz in 1968, where
he initially headed up sales and marketing
in agrochemicals, and later the agrochemicals and the agrochemicals /nutrition
departments. In 1976, he became head of
corporate finance. In 1977, he was elected to
the Sandoz Board of Directors and appointed
Executive Member of the Board, and in 1980
he became Vice Chairman. Moret took over
operational management of the Sandoz Group
in May 1981 as Chairman of the Executive
Committee. In 1985, he was elected Chairman
of the Board of Directors. Although Moret
formally gave up managing the company in
1993, he remained its key figure thanks
to his role as Chairman of the Board.
Moret made economic history in 1996 when
he engineered the merger of Sandoz and
Ciba to form Novartis. After he retired from
an active role, he was named Honorary
Chairman of Novartis.
136
085
first one merger, then another
1970 –1996
086
137
Ciba-Geigy Takarazuka (Japan).
Protein analysis. 1991.
Ciba-Geigy Buenos Aires
(Argentina). Pharmaceutical
quality control. 1990.
Ciba-Geigy Greensboro
(North Carolina, USA).
Dyestuff research laboratory.
1990.
Sandoz East Hanover
(New Jersey, USA). IT system.
1992.
Ciba-Geigy Grenzach (Germany).
Operations staff from building
9076. 1993.
087
Alex Krauer. 1987.
Alex Krauer was born in Basel in 1931.
After gaining his university entrance qualification at school, he studied economics
at the Universities of Basel and Paris and at
the London School of Economics. In 1955,
he was awarded a doctorate by the University
of Basel. He joined the finance department
of CIBA in 1956, where he initially worked
as head of accounting and later as head of
finance and administration in the Italian
group company of CIBA/Ciba-Geigy. When he
returned to Switzerland in 1972, he took
over management of the central control and
management services function in Basel.
He became a member of the Executive
Committee in 1976. In 1982, he was appointed
Deputy Chairman of this committee, and
from 1987 to 1995 he was Chairman and CEO
of Ciba-Geigy. Following the merger of
Ciba and Sandoz to form Novartis he worked
as Chairman of the Board until 1999.
Since then he has been Honorary Chairman
of Novartis.
088 | 089
Changing the logo at the Novartis St. Johann
site in Basel. February 3, 1997.
138
087
first one merger, then another
1970 –1996
088
089
139
Sandimmunei
In the 1960s, it was customary for scientists to return from their travels
A fungus to inhibit thei
with soil samples. From these, the laboratories in natural substances de-
immune systemi
partments would then routinely isolate fungi and bacteria. Microorganisms
form an abundance of natural substances still studied today by pharmaceutical researchers in order to discover therapeutically interesting active
substances. This was how, in the summer of 1969, Sandoz discovered a fungus (Tolypocladium inflatum) in “holiday soil” from the Hardangervidda, a
Norwegian plateau. While it did not show any antibacterial effects in the
various tests, it did inhibit the growth of other fungi. The active substance
was analyzed and identified as a new type of cyclic peptide (a circular protein from two or more amino acids). It subsequently turned out that the
compound – later named cyclosporine – demonstrates highly specific suppression of cells that play a key role in the immune system.
Immunosuppression is desirable in the case of certain diseases in
which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissue (autoimmune diseases) and for organ transplants. After a transplant, the immune system
normally attempts to reject the new organ because it recognizes it as foreign tissue. Cyclosporine has the important property of inhibiting immune
cells which are key to rejecting foreign tissue, while still allowing the
immune system to defend against infection. This sets the new immunosuppressant apart from classic cytostatic substances, such as azathioprine, which non-specifically inhibit all cells from dividing.
At Sandoz, the decision to begin developing cyclosporine opened up a
second key area of natural substance research after ergot alkaloids – the
search for new immunosuppressants. This step was a decisive contribution
to the establishment of a new research field in transplantation medicine.
Preclinical development revealed that cyclosporine does not reach the
blood when administered in capsules. This setback prompted scientists to
investigate on themselves which dosage form would allow the substance to
be best absorbed by the body. Ultimately, they discovered that a mixture
containing olive oil is the most suitable. After many preclinical and clinical
studies, transplants in animals and trial treatments in patients, the first
pharmacological publication on cyclosporine appeared in 1976. The compound was first launched on the market in 1982 under the trade name Sandimmune, followed by Neoral, an improved formulation in a microemulsion, in
1994. These medicines enabled a breakthrough in transplantation medicine
and, over three decades, have saved, extended or improved thousands of
1
Vials containing Sandimmune oral solution.
Probably 1992–1993.
people’s lives. In addition to kidney, heart, liver, lung, pancreas, bone mar-
2
Infusion ampoules with sterile Sandimmune
solution. Probably 1992–1993.
matoid arthritis.
3
Packaging of Sandimmune and Neoral.
1980s and 1990s.
140
row and tissue transplants, cyclosporine also proved to be extremely effective as a treatment for autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and rheu-
1
2
3
141
Tegretoliandi
Trileptali
Safety for epilepticsi
There are few illnesses which have been met with more revulsion, fear and
superstition than epilepsy (once known as falling sickness). Whereas the
disease was (and sometimes still is) viewed in some cultures as a punishment by dark forces, epilepsy sufferers are revered in other cultures as
“chosen ones”. Even in industrialized societies, attitudes toward epilepsy
are still far from being free of prejudice and misconception. In addition to
the illness itself, sufferers often have to contend with discrimination, ostracism and problems in the workplace. But epilepsy patients, who make up
around 1 per cent of the world population, are “ordinary” people who occasionally suffer from certain “extraordinary” symptoms: they suffer epileptic seizures caused by a temporary increase in the activity of certain
groups of brain cells. Epilepsy is not a mental illness, but a neurological
disorder probably attributable to hereditary brain damage or brain injury.
The symptoms and severity of epilepsy can vary considerably: there are
either generalized seizures, which affect the entire cerebral cortex and are
often associated with loss of consciousness; or focal seizures, which arise
in restricted regions of the brain.
Modern epilepsy treatment began in 1857 when Sir Charles Locock
demonstrated the anti-epileptic effect of potassium bromide. The bromide
substance class alleviates epileptic seizures by sedating the functions
of the central nervous system. Chemists continued their research on this
basis until phenobarbital became available, a sedative and hypnotic whose
anti-epileptic effect was known from 1912. The broadly effective phenobarbital soon became so firmly established in clinical practice that, as late as
1987, one-third of all epileptics were still being treated with medication containing this active substance. The subsequent generation of antiepileptics was the result of a better understanding of the pathology of epilepsy. Animal models were helpful here: it was recognized that animals react to certain electrical and chemical stimuli with epileptic seizures. Consequently, research on animals has enabled a targeted search for new
epilepsy treatments and their development to clinical maturity.
An excellent example of the breakthrough that these models achieved
is the development of carbamazepine. In 1957, Geigy managed to synthesize this compound from a series of ureas. Carbamazepine was patented in
Switzerland in the same year and proved to be a highly effective and very
well tolerated anticonvulsant. Its broad clinical spectrum was recognized
at the same time: carbamazepine is effective not only for generalized and
simple focal seizures, but also for the previously hard-to-treat temporal
lobe epilepsy and a host of other neurological disorders. This innovative
medicine was first launched on the Swiss and UK markets in 1963, under
the name Tegretol, and was eventually registered in around 150 countries.
By the turn of the millennium it had become established as a mainstay epi1
Advertisement for Tegretol (carbamazepine
B.P.) for childhood epilepsy. 1970s.
142
lepsy treatment, being used in some 15 per cent of all epilepsy cases.
In the meantime, Tegretol has undergone successful further devel-
opments and been launched as a new anti-epileptic under the trade name
Trileptal. This is just as effective as Tegretol, but better tolerated and easier
to dose. A major advantage of Trileptal is that it has fewer interactions
with other drugs. However, its development was more difficult than that of
Tegretol.
Oxcarbazepine – the active substance in Trileptal – had already been
synthesized in 1966, but its effect potential remained undiscovered until
the mid-1970s. When Ciba-Geigy scientists renewed the search for a new
anti-epileptic, one of the substances they studied was oxcarbazepine, and
they recognized its advantages from animal experiments. Although initial
clinical studies were disappointing, the researchers did not give up. They
ultimately discovered that a higher dosage was required than with Tegretol
in order to achieve comparable results. Positive outcomes enabled the drug
to be launched on the market – in 1990 in Denmark, in 1999 throughout the
EU and in 2000 in the USA.
It is in large measure thanks to pioneering medicines like Tegretol and
Trileptal that, today, 60–80 per cent of all children and adults newly diagnosed with epilepsy can be successfully treated with medication that
brings seizures completely under control.
1
143
8
Novartis
From life sciences to focus on healthcare
1996–2013
Since the second half of the 1990s, the number of people in the world has
increased from 5.8 billion to over 7 billion. Not only increased life expectancy for individuals, but also the constant increase in the world population have strongly fueled demand for healthcare services and products.
Further reasons for this development are advances in diagnostics and research into the causes of illnesses, new possibilities of treatment for previously incurable diseases or ones which were hard to cure, and the medical
backlog in threshold and developing countries.
A single company: focus on integration When Novartis was formed on December 20, 1996, the largest company merger in the history of the industry
at that time was entered in the Basel Commercial Register. The name is
inspired by the Latin “novae artes”, meaning “new arts, new skills”. The
merger was one of equals and took place by means of a stock swap, i.e. with
no payment of takeover premiums. For this reason, the Board of Directors
(16 members) and the Executive Committee (8 members) comprised equal
numbers of leading figures from Ciba and Sandoz. Alex Krauer (Ciba) became Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Daniel Vasella (Sandoz)
CEO and Executive Member of the Board of Directors. The leaders involved
attached great importance to amalgamating Sandoz and Ciba to form Novartis as rapidly as possible. Planning of the merger process lasted until
April 1996. Subsequently, an integration office took on the role of coordinating and guiding the 200 taskforces and 600 project teams through the
integration process. Before officially completing the merger, 3,500 management positions had to be assigned, the global organizational structures and
staffing levels defined, business processes evaluated and locations selected. By 1998, the integration process was largely completed. In April 1999,
Krauer retired and Vasella took over the role of Novartis Chairman, whilst
also remaining CEO until 2010.
Three business areas: focus on life sciences When Ciba and Sandoz
merged, both groups were completely restructured. From its inception, Novartis devoted itself to three business areas within life sciences: healthcare, agribusiness and nutrition. This strategic focus required the spin-off
of the industrial divisions. In 1996, the precision balances manufacturer
Mettler Toledo and the construction chemicals firm MBT were divested.
Ciba’s other industrial divisions were merged in 1997 to form the new company Ciba Specialty Chemicals, which was listed on the stock exchange.
The key to success: innovation as strategy Right from the start, Novartis
declared its intention to become a market leader in all three of its business
areas. The merger gave it a more broad-based market presence with a network of large sales organizations spanning the globe. Research and development were also called upon to sustain growth in all divisions through innovative products. To strengthen its internal research capabilities, alliances
and cooperation agreements were forged with research institutes and
biotech companies. In La Jolla (California, USA), the group founded the
Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation.
146
Novartis
1996 –2013
A brilliant start In its first year, Novartis achieved superb results, with the
group’s net profit rising by 43 per cent to 5.2 billion Swiss francs. This brilliant start was due in no small way to the initial synergy effects of the merger, with cost savings of 2 billion Swiss francs being made between 1996
and 1998. In 1998, the group commenced wide-ranging restructuring measures: the self-medication unit of the Pharmaceuticals Division was merged
with the Nutrition Division to form a new Consumer Health Division. This
grouped together the three businesses of over-the-counter, health and
functional nutrition (including Gerber with its infant nutrition segment) and
medical nutrition. In parallel with this, Novartis began to sell off certain
parts of the company, including health food store brand Eden and the crispbread manufacturer Wasa.
Towards the end of the millennium, the agricultural business lost a
significant amount of ground due to adverse market trends: in 1999, it recorded a 7 per cent decline in sales. But the Pharmaceuticals Division also
posted less dynamic growth. Key products such as Voltaren and Sandimmune lost some of their appeal due to expiring patents. With growth of
just 4 per cent, sales momentum within the Pharmaceuticals Division in
1999 was significantly below the overall market average. It was now time to
replace the “blockbusters” which were no longer under patent protection
with new, innovative medications. This required three areas of focus: bundling strengths in the pharmaceutical sector, driving research and development, and building a competent and committed management team.
Spin-off of agribusiness: the founding of Syngenta In 1999, the Board of
Directors decided to spin off the crop protection and seeds business. In
2000, this division was merged with that of the Anglo-Swedish group AstraZeneca, thus creating the first company ever to focus entirely on agriculture: Syngenta, headquartered in Basel. Novartis retained the animal health
unit and made it part of the Consumer Health Division. The spin-off of its
agricultural business saw the official abandonment of the life sciences
concept in favor of concentrating on the healthcare sector. The marginal
synergies between the agricultural and health businesses had not compensated for the differences between them.
Turnaround at the turn of the millennium – innovation as the elixir of life In
2001, Novartis achieved double-digit sales growth, and also managed to increase operating income within the Pharmaceuticals Division by a further
8 per cent, despite making additional investments in new launches and key
products. This development was mainly thanks to the pharmaceutical business in the USA, where sales growth of 24 per cent was achieved, not only
by putting a great deal of effort into the expansion of sales and marketing,
but also by significantly increasing the number of visits to doctors. Furthermore, the consistent strategy of innovation bore fruit: 2001 was the second
consecutive year in which the US authorities granted more marketing
authorizations to Novartis for new active substances than to any of its competitors. The products registered in record time included Gleevec/Glivec,
147
the revolutionary treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia. At the same time,
Diovan, a very well tolerated antihypertensive, grew to become a key revenue driver due to its pharmacological profile. In 2002, through systematic
investments, the company founded the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical
Research (NIBR) in Cambridge (Massachusetts, USA). NIBR was tasked with
attracting the best researchers to the group and increasing research productivity. In recent years, Novartis has been able to obtain more new regulatory approvals for drugs than its competitors. At the end of 2009, the
group announced its intention to build a new research campus in Shanghai.
With success comes responsibility: corporate citizenship Right from the
start, Novartis made social responsibility an integral part of its corporate
strategy. To this end, Novartis continued the Foundation for Sustainable
Development, already created by Ciba-Geigy in 1979. The foundation runs a
number of programmes committed to facilitating access to medical treatment for disadvantaged population groups around the world who suffer
from leprosy, malaria, tuberculosis, chronic myeloid leukemia and other diseases. On July 14, 2000, Novartis was one of the first companies to sign the
UN Global Compact, which commits its members to the acknowledgment,
support and implementation of a series of fundamental values in relation to
human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and the battle
against corruption. In 2004, the Basel group opened the Novartis Institute
for Tropical Diseases in Singapore, followed by the Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health in Siena, Italy, in 2007. Both work on a not-for-profit
basis, the former to develop new treatments in the fight against dengue
fever and drug-resistant tuberculosis, and the latter to create vaccines for
patients in developing countries.
Focused diversification: Sandoz and Vaccines and Diagnostics Since the
turn of the millennium, Novartis has been pursuing a strategy of focused
diversification, concentrating consistently on healthcare. Consequently, it
sold the Health & Functional Food unit in 2002, and in so doing said goodbye
to the legendary Ovaltine/Ovomaltine brand. At the same time, Novartis
acquired the Slovenian generics group Lek and started to consolidate all
its business with off-patent medicines under the Sandoz name. In 2005,
Novartis bought and integrated the German generics provider Hexal together with the US company Eon Labs, Inc. One year later, Novartis acquired the remaining shares it did not yet own in vaccines producer Chiron,
and created the new Vaccines and Diagnostics Division. By selling the medical nutrition and Gerber business units in 2007 to Swiss food corporation
Nestlé, Novartis completed its process of focusing solely on healthcare.
The integration of Alcon: the global leader in eye care emerges In 1945,
Robert D. Alexander and William C. Conner opened a pharmacy in Fort
Worth (Texas, USA). They combined the initial syllables of their surnames to
create the company name: Alcon Prescription Pharmacy. The pharmacists
sold medicines, compounded medications according to doctors’ prescriptions and tried to manufacture injectable sterile vitamins. The two founders
148
Novartis
1996 –2013
of the company soon decided to focus on producing sterile ophthalmic products. In 1947, the company name was changed to Alcon Laboratories. In
the 1970s, Alcon began to expand its activities, first with a compound to
control bleeding, then with urological and pediatric products. Over-thecounter dermatological products for hair, skin and scalp followed. In 1978,
Nestlé bought 97.4 per cent of the Alcon shares. Research was expanded,
whereby the ophthalmology sector developed most rapidly thanks to scientific advances in glaucoma, cataract and refractive errors. When soft contact lenses established themselves in the market, CIBA Vision took the lead
in the manufacture of innovative contact lenses, while Alcon capitalized on
the growing demand for appropriate lens care products. At the end of the
1980s, Alcon gradually withdrew from the dermatology sector and captured
new business areas through numerous acquisitions: intraocular lenses,
therapeutic optical products, laser and imaging methods for the eye, refractive corneal surgery and laser surgery methods. With the acquisition of
Cooper Vision Surgical in 1989, Alcon laid the foundation stone for the accelerated growth of its surgical business, which took it to market leadership in eye care. Alcon sales grew from about US$ 1 billion in the early 1990s
to over US$ 7 billion in 2010.
In 2002, Nestlé listed Alcon on the stock exchange, but retained 77
per cent of the shares. Novartis acquired this majority holding in 2010. In
April 2011, Novartis gained 100 per cent ownership of Alcon, uniting the
strengths of Alcon, CIBA Vision and the Novartis ophthalmics portfolio to
form the world’s leading eye care business. The newly created Alcon Division is the Novartis Group’s second largest after Pharmaceuticals.
149
Novartis Caracas (Venezuela).
Community Partnership Day.
April 1998.
Novartis Port-of-Spain (Trinidad
and Tobago). Community
Partnership Day. April 22, 2002.
090
Daniel Vasella. May 2002.
Daniel Vasella was born in 1953 in Fribourg
(Switzerland). He graduated in medicine from
the University of Bern (Switzerland) in 1979,
completing his doctoral thesis in clinical
pharmacology in 1980. During the 1980s he
worked as a physician in various hospitals,
ultimately as senior physician for internal
medicine at the Inselspital Bern. In addition to
his work as an internist, he specialized in the
area of psychosomatic medicine. He changed
career in 1988, moving into industry, and
worked for four years in the USA in the marketing department at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals.
In 1992, he returned to Switzerland as
assistant to the Chief Operating Officer (COO)
of the Pharmaceuticals Division, later becoming head of corporate product management.
In 1994, he was appointed COO of the Pharmaceuticals Division and was assigned responsibility for global development in this sector.
He took over as head of the Pharmaceuticals
Division in 1995, becoming a member of the
Executive Committee. Following the SandozCiba merger, Vasella was appointed Executive
Member of the Board of Directors and CEO
of Novartis. In 1999, he also took on the role of
Chairman of the Board of Directors. Vasella
passed on the position of CEO to his successor,
Joseph Jimenez, in 2010. In 2013, he resigned
as Chairman and was succeeded by Joerg
Reinhardt. Today, he is Honorary Chairman of
Novartis.
091
Novartis Basel. Laboratory at Fabrikstrasse 16.
February 2008.
150
090
Novartis
1996 –2013
091
151
Novartis Basel. Associates from
Visitor Services. 2001.
Novartis Nyon (Switzerland).
Cross-functional team for major
product launch in Europe. 2010.
092
092
Packs of medicines for different therapeutic
areas: Zometa (bone metastases), Galvus
(diabetes), Exelon (Alzheimer’s) and Exjade
(iron overload). 2000s.
093
Novartis Wehr (Germany). Laboratory.
December 2001.
094
Novartis lists its shares on the New York
Stock Exchange. May 11, 2000.
152
093
Novartis
1996 –2013
094
153
Novartis Basel. Company
archive. 2010.
Novartis Horsham (UK).
Laboratory. November 2001.
Novartis Stein (Switzerland).
Production. November 2002.
095
Packaging of Fortekor. Around 2001.
What is effective in humans often works in
animals too. There are synergies in numerous
indications. The active substance in Fortekor,
benazepril hydrochloride, is also contained
in the medicine Cibacen (ACE inhibitor)
for lowering blood pressure in humans and is
prescribed for dogs with heart failure.
Fortekor is approved for cats with kidney
problems (chronic renal insufficiency) as well.
095
096
Novartis Saint-Aubin (Switzerland). 2009.
The Centre de Recherche Santé Animale
in Saint-Aubin is one of the most important
research facilities of Novartis Animal
Health worldwide. Screening is crucial to
successful research. This is a sifting
and selection process in which the effect of
active substances is tested in the laboratory.
097
Novartis Basel. The Exhibition Laboratory
at Fabrikstrasse 10. 2010.
The research laboratory situated at street
level provides a fascinating glimpse
into the future of medicine. Besides large
facilities for genetic research and scientific
imaging, the work of the researchers is
illustrated by two-dimensional holographic
projections.
154
096
Novartis
1996 –2013
097
155
Friedrich Miescher Institute for
Biomedical Research Basel. 2010.
The Novartis Institute for Tropical
Diseases in Singapore. June 2004.
098
Novartis Shanghai. Lobby of NIBR facility.
2009.
098
099
Novartis Cambridge (Massachusetts, USA).
2004.
100
Novartis Cambridge (Massachusetts, USA).
2009.
NIBR in Cambridge received an Energy
Excellence Award in 2007 for its ingenious
energy conservation programme. The awardwinning concept is all-embracing.
It ranges from lighting and air-conditioning
parameters through modernized building
control systems to a code of conduct for
associates.
156
099
Novartis
1996 –2013
100
157
Novartis Behring Marburg
(Germany). Vaccine production
associate. 2010.
Novartis Nyon (Switzerland).
Production of Otrivin nasal drops.
2009.
Novartis Pharmanalytica Locarno
(Switzerland). Analytical laboratory. 2009.
Novartis Basel. Vocational
trainer with apprentice
(biology laboratory technician,
3rd year of apprenticeship). 2009.
Alcon Barcelona (Spain).
Research and development. 2006.
101
101
Russian packaging of Myfortic. After 2002.
102
Gilenya capsules. 2011.
Gilenya, the first medicine in a new therapeutic class of so-called S1P receptor
modulators, has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of multiple sclerosis
(MS). Novartis acquired FTY720 in 1997
from a Japanese company to test the substance in transplantation medicine.
103
Alcon Fort Worth (Texas, USA). 2009.
158
102
Novartis
1996 –2013
103
159
Diovani
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a rapidly growing medical problem
The blockbuster againsti
across the world – and a silent killer. An estimated one billion people around
hypertensioni
the world are currently affected. The majority of them do not feel unwell,
but if their blood pressure is constantly too high, it can cause damage to the
heart, kidneys and brain, the consequences of which are a major cause of
death in industrialized nations.
Records show that the ancient Chinese knew about the “hard pulse”
4,600 years ago. But significant advances in the understanding and treatment of hypertension were made only in the 20th century. Diuretics were
employed as the first antihypertensive agents around 60 years ago, followed in the 1960s by beta-blockers (such as Trasicor from CIBA or Visken
from Sandoz), then by calcium antagonists, and later by ACE inhibitors
(such as Cibacen, known as Lotensin in the USA). The latter were the first
drugs to act directly on the hormone system which regulates blood pressure within the body – the renin-angiotensin system (RAS).
One hormone within the RAS is angiotensin II. It constricts the blood
vessels, thus leading to increased resistance and raised blood pressure.
One possible way of interrupting this cascade (a series of reactions in a
metabolism) is to inhibit the enzyme that is responsible for converting
the preliminary angiotensin I to angiotensin II – the angiotensin-converting
enzyme (ACE). A dry cough frequently occurs as a side effect of this
treatment. A more recent method of reducing blood pressure interrupts
the cascade at a later stage: angiotensin II receptor blockers prevent
the hormone from binding to its receptor and thus constricting the blood
vessels.
In early 1988, US company Du Pont published a patent for the very
first angiotensin II receptor blocker (losartan). At the same time, Ciba-Geigy
was also engaged in research in this promising area. The competition was
under way: at the end of 1989, researchers in Basel evaluated an angiotensin II receptor blocker with an innovative chemical structure, which works
by reducing blood pressure on a continual basis and is very well tolerated.
Ciba-Geigy applied for approval in Europe and the USA in record time: by
mid-1996, the company launched the drug valsartan under the brand name
Diovan. Although Merck as the successor to Du Pont had already launched
its antihypertensive Cozaar (active substance: losartan) the previous year,
Diovan soon led the angiotensin II receptor blocker market segment.
Diovan also turned out to reduce cardiovascular mortality if adminis-
tered after a heart attack. This conclusion was reached in 2003 by the largest long-term controlled study ever conducted in individuals who had survived a heart attack. Thus the medication was employed as a new and
effective first-line treatment for a high-risk group which is constantly growing. Even before this time, experts had identified the advantages of Diovan
1
Diovan production in Wehr (Germany).
December 2001.
160
for over 4.5 million people with symptomatic heart failure. As a result, in
2002, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this indication
for Diovan on the US market; in 2005, the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
followed suit for the EU. The Diovan family of products brought in a record
of over US$ 6 billion in 2010. Its patent protection in the USA expired in September 2012, but the expected fall in sales due to less expensive generics
should be compensated by rapid growth in emerging markets such as Latin
America and Asia, where the hypertensive is holding its ground very well,
even without patent protection. Despite a flourishing trade in imitations of
original products, patients are prepared to pay more for tried and tested
brand quality.
1
161
Gleevec | Gliveci
“White blood” is the title that the German pathologist Rudolf Virchow gave
From a gene defect to revolutionaryi
to a case report in 1845 of a patient in whose blood the white corpuscles
leukemia treatmenti
heavily outweighed the red ones, without there being any serious infection.
Virchow later coined the term “leukemia” for this condition. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is one of the four most common cancers of the blood
cells, accounting for 15–20 per cent of all cases of adult leukemia. It is diagnosed in 1 – 2 people per 100,000 every year, mostly between the ages of
30 and 60. Over the course of the disease, the bone marrow produces increasing numbers of white blood cells (leukocytes), and this progressively
changes the composition of the blood. Patients may hardly notice it for
years, but as the disease progresses it causes tiredness, weight loss and
spleen enlargement, and ultimately leads to a breakdown of the immune
system. Without treatment, patients rarely survive this final phase for
more than a few months.
Traditional treatments for CML often have devastating side effects
and are relatively unspecific, which limits their success. From 1920 onwards,
radiation therapy was used to treat the disease. This was followed in the
1950s by various chemotherapy regimes which – if carried out at an early
stage – could increase life expectancy by up to five years. The only previous
treatment with a chance of bringing the disease’s symptoms under control
was bone marrow transplantation, which began in the 1970s. The following
decade saw the introduction of interferon alpha therapy. However, many
patients became resistant to this treatment over time. Bone marrow transplantation also has major disadvantages: a suitable donor of healthy stem
cells can be found for only about 15 per cent of cases, and around one-fifth
of transplant patients die after the operation. Furthermore, advanced age
or other factors rule out transplantation in many cases.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania (USA) began laying the
foundations for a new type of treatment for CML in 1960. In their quest to
understand what happens in cells affected by CML, they discovered a genetic mutation: in all patients, chromosome 22 was shortened, with the
missing section appearing incorrectly on chromosome 9. Conversely, a
smaller part of the latter could be found on chromosome 22. This was the
first time in the history of medicine that defective genetic material resulting
from translocation of genes had been identified as a trigger for cancer.
It took almost 30 years to discover the mechanisms by which the
“Philadelphia chromosome”, as it is known, causes leukemia. The success
of the US researchers inspired Ciba-Geigy to launch a research programme
at the end of the 1980s to investigate chemically manufactured substances
1
Sterile production system for Gleevec
capsules. Stein site (Switzerland).
June 2001.
2
Manufacturing Gleevec capsules.
Stein site (Switzerland). June 2001.
162
which might reduce the effects of the genetic defect in a targeted fashion.
By 1993, after working on this for two years, the researchers had developed
a substance which blocks the specific protein that triggers CML (a tyrosine
kinase). This marked the birth of Gleevec – a drug which can stop the proliferation of white blood cells without damaging normal cells and upsetting
the balance of the body as a whole.
Successor company Novartis soon faced a new challenge: initial clini-
cal trials in 1999 showed that the active substance normalized blood values
in the early stages and was well tolerated by almost all CML sufferers. When
this finding became widely known, more and more patients expected to be
accepted on one of the clinical programmes. In order to reduce development time and make the new medicine available to patients as soon as
possible, Daniel Vasella, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Novartis at that
time, immediately arranged the necessary investments. In 2001, several
tonnes of Gleevec were produced.
In February 2001, just under 32 months after commencement of the
first clinical trials in humans, the Basel-based pharmaceutical company
submitted applications to authorities worldwide for approval. Novartis thus
1
completed the development phase in half the time usually taken in the industry. The US authorities were the first to approve the product, on May 10,
2001, under the trade name Gleevec. Twenty-four hours later, deliveries
were already under way to hospitals and pharmacies around the USA. Further trials since then have shown Gleevec to be effective as a treatment for
other cancers. Alongside its primary indication for CML, it is now approved
in the USA, the EU and many other countries as a treatment for certain
types of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).
In 2002, Novartis launched one of its most comprehensive patient aid
programmes: by the end of 2010, more than 37,000 sufferers in some 80
countries had received – free of charge – either Gleevec or Tasigna. Tasigna
2
is a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor which is primarily indicated
in cases of resistance or intolerance to Gleevec. Tasigna represents an improvement in structure and efficacy, which is why it was approved in Switzerland for the first time in 2007 and additionally as a first-line treatment for
CML in the USA in 2010.
163
Bexseroi
The first infectious disease that humans were able to protect themselves
A milestone in the developmenti
against was smallpox. In 1798, the English country doctor Edward Jenner
of innovative vaccinesi
introduced an inoculation procedure using cowpox lymph and called it “vaccination”, from the Latin vacca, meaning cow. Within a few years, the procedure became widespread practice across numerous countries in Europe.
This is the most successful of all vaccinations to date, and as a result, in
1980 the World Health Organization was able to declare that smallpox had
been eradicated.
During the last third of the 19th century, bacteriologists and immu-
nologists developed vaccines against a whole range of diseases such as rabies (Louis Pasteur, 1884), cholera (whose pathogen was discovered by Robert Koch in 1883) and typhoid. From 1890 onwards, antitoxins were used to
counteract the poisons (toxins) of tetanus and diphtheria. The tuberculosis
vaccine, which had been available since 1927, only came into general use in
the 1950s and made a significant contribution to the decline of this disease
in the industrialized nations. Poliomyelitis, a disease that affected high
numbers of children from the 1940s onwards, was also sharply curbed
through vaccines developed by Jonas Edward Salk (1956) and Albert Bruce
Sabin (1960), and today is only found in a few developing countries.
One particularly insidious infection that, although rare, can be deadly
within 24 to 48 hours from first symptom onset is meningococcal disease.
The bacterium Neisseria meningitidis causes inflammation of the membranes (meninges) covering the brain and spinal cord. The disease often affects small children. There are nearly half a million cases of meningococcal
disease and 50,000 associated deaths every year around the world. Those
who survive this particularly aggressive illness often sustain damage to
their limbs, suffer serious harm to organs or are left blind or deaf.
In 1992, researchers at US biotech firm Chiron started work on devel-
oping a vaccine against meningococcal disease. Since that time, vaccines
have been made available for four of the five main meningococcal serogroups (A, C, W and Y but not B): Menjugate (first licensed in 2000) helps
protect against meningococcal disease caused by serogroup C, while Menveo (first licensed in 2010) protects against that caused by serogroups A, C,
W and Y. Since September 2011, Menveo has been administered to patients
in over 40 countries for active immunization against meningococcal infections.
In contrast, for a long time the Chiron research team did not make any
progress with a vaccine to protect against meningococcal serogroup B
(commonly known as “Men-B”), which accounts for over 70 per cent of all
cases of meningococcal disease in some parts of the world. This bacterium
1
Novartis Behring Marburg (Germany).
Production of vaccine for the swine flu
virus H1N1. 2009.
2
Meningococcal bacteria. 2009.
164
mimics a polysaccharide that occurs naturally in the human body and is
therefore not identified as an intruder by the immune system.
The breakthrough only came with the genome revolution, when it be-
came possible to decode the Men-B bacterium genome in full, leading to
the discovery of new vaccine antigens. Since then, this innovative approach
to vaccine development, known as “reverse vaccinology”, has been transferred to other pathogens and has proved itself a key tool for the development of vaccines. Even after identifying the correct antigens, however, it
still took a full decade of extensive clinical research and evaluation before,
in December 2010, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics (formed from the
takeover of Chiron in 2006) was able to submit its vaccine Bexsero for marketing authorization. Approved by the EU in January 2013, it is the first vaccine to provide broad protection against the devastating Men-B infections
– an important milestone on a scientific journey that started 20 years ago.
1
2
165
The novartis campusi
Catalyst for new ideasi
The merger of Ciba and Sandoz meant Novartis had three extensive locations in Basel: Rosental, Klybeck and St. Johann. After the spin-off of the
Agricultural Division in 2000, the Rosental site became the new headquarters of Syngenta. Novartis established the St. Johann site as a location for
Research and Development, Marketing and the Executive Committee. This
avoided unnecessary travel and duplication and optimized collaboration.
Located in northern Basel next to the French border, the St. Johann
site had developed remarkably quickly from 1886 onwards, but in a somewhat piecemeal fashion. At the end of the 20th century, it was a rather
random collection of buildings with various purposes, styles and states of
repair. Major investment was required for the site to meet modern environmental and working standards.
The outsourcing of most production activity away from the city and
the expansion of Marketing, Administration and Research and Development
brought about a profound change in the needs of employees. Daniel Vasella,
Chairman and CEO of Novartis at that time, declared that his goal was to
transform the industrial site – which had previously been centered around
machines – into a campus that would be attractive for people. Innovation
and performance were to be boosted by communication, collaboration and
both planned and spontaneous meetings. The new work environment needed to be attractive to job applicants and employees and make them feel at
ease. In order to achieve this vision, in 2001 Vasella asked Vittorio Magnago
Lampugnani to draw up a master plan for the Campus, which was then approved by the Board of Directors. Over ten years later, more than 7,000 employees work at the Campus. To begin the implementation of the complex
project, Novartis enlisted the services of landscape architect Peter Walker,
art curator Harald Szeemann, lighting designer Andreas Schulz, graphic
designer Alan Fletcher and industrial psychologist Fritz Steele. They were
later joined by Günther Vogt, Jacqueline Burckhardt and Andrée Putman.
Based on the goals set, this master plan focuses on open spaces “that
create a feeling of well-being and stimulate communication”, around which
are grouped “buildings whose use is flexible and not predefined”. To avoid
uniformity of design, every new building is designed and built by a different
architect. The selected structures should be elegant and unobtrusive in
style and through their diversity reflect the cultures of the chosen architects. Based on these positive experiences, Novartis is now planning
similar campus projects in China and the USA. Between 2003 and 2011,
14 renowned architects or teams of architects constructed buildings at the
Novartis Campus in Basel:
– Roger Diener, Basel; Gerold Wiederin, Vienna (Austria); Helmut Federle,
1
First sketch of the master plan.
February 2001.
2
Fabrikstrasse. 2009.
166
Vienna (Austria): Forum 3
– Peter Märkli, Zurich: Visitor Center, Fabrikstrasse 6
– Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA), Tokyo: Fabrikstrasse 4
–Marco Serra, Basel: Entrance pavilion Fabrikstrasse 2 and underground
car park
1
2
167
3
Side view of the office building at
Fabrikstrasse 4. 2007.
– Adolf Krischanitz, Vienna (Austria); Berlin (Germany); Zurich: Fabrik strasse 16
– Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, Milan (Italy): Fabrikstrasse 12
4
Fabrikstrasse. Probably 2008.
– Rafael Moneo, Madrid (Spain): Fabrikstrasse 14
5
Office Building, Square 3. 2009.
– Tadao Ando, Osaka (Japan): Fabrikstrasse 28
6
Fabrikstrasse 22. 2010.
– Frank O. Gehry, Los Angeles (USA): Fabrikstrasse 15
– Fumihiko Maki, Tokyo: Square 3
– David Chipperfield, London: Fabrikstrasse 22
– Yoshio Taniguchi, Tokyo: Fabrikstrasse 10
– Eduardo Souto de Moura, Porto (Portugal): Physic Garden 3
– Álvaro Siza, Porto (Portugal): Virchow 6
At the entrance to the Campus there is a park designed by Günther
Vogt that links the green area of the existing Voltamatte city park with a
relaxation zone along the banks of the river Rhine. There, a public cycle and
footpath, the “Rhine Promenade”, is planned to stretch along the Rhine to
the Three Countries Bridge in France.
Peter Walker and others shaped the historic Fabrikstrasse, fully 600
metres long, into a tree-lined avenue which has become the backbone of
this new urban structure. Lampugnani’s vision is to create a modern version
of the rue de Rivoli in Paris, “lined on one side by a row of trees, and on the
other by elegant arcades under which cafés, restaurants and shops will
open”.
To the west of this main axis, some of the existing high-rise buildings
are being retained, and new high-rises are to be added later. The Campus is
developing step by step; old buildings are only replaced when they are no
longer of any use. Thus in the east towards the Rhine, three further constructions will be completed by 2015: the office building at Fabrikstrasse
18 by Juan Navarro Baldeweg (Madrid, Spain), Asklepios 8 by Herzog & de
Meuron and the laboratory at Virchow 16 by Rahul Mehrotra (Mumbai, India;
Boston, USA). The office building by the Basel architects Herzog & de Meuron will have a prominent position at the south-east end of the Campus and
allow public access to a restaurant from the Rhine Promenade.
At the northern end of Fabrikstrasse, the multipart sculpture by
Richard Serra marks the vanishing point from the main entrance in the
south and the northern access point from the car park, which is on French
soil. Many works by internationally eminent artists enhance the buildings,
squares and parks on the site. The roads that cross the length and breadth
of the Campus honor significant figures from medical history, bearing the
names of individuals whose achievements have played an important role in
the fields of activity in which Novartis operates.
The rectangular reconstruction of the site, which covers around 20
hectares, follows the basic orientation of the original factory buildings. At
the same time, the grid-like structure of the Campus traces the earliest relics of building activity on the site: thanks to the excavation works that have
taken place here, the archaeologists of Basel City were able to conduct a
168
wide-ranging examination of the remains of a Celtic settlement which was
originally discovered here in 1911. They uncovered a large settlement, extending to around 15 hectares, and found evidence of complex forms of
collaborative human coexistence for the first time in this region. The likelihood is that 2,100 years ago, on the very site where our Knowledge Campus
is located today, another center of innovation was flourishing!
3
4
5
6
169
appendix
Prix Galien
Sources and Bibliography
index
Photo credits
Novartis wins
The Prix Galien was established in France in 1970. It is named after Galen, a
Prix Galien 34 times
physician of ancient Greece who is held to be one of the founding fathers of
pharmacology. The prize is awarded every year in recognition of therapeutic
innovations. A jury consisting of prominent scientists and numerous Nobel
Prize winners chooses the best drugs and research projects. The prestigious reputation of the prize spread rapidly beyond the borders of France,
with many other countries setting up their own Prix Galien: Belgium and
Luxembourg (1982), Germany (1984), the UK (1988), Italy (1989), Spain (1990),
Portugal (1991), the Netherlands (1992), Canada (1993), Switzerland (2001)
and the USA (2007). This explains why the same product can receive more
than one award. The Prix Galien International has also existed since 1996,
and is awarded every two years for the most important innovative developments. In scientific circles, the award is considered to be the “Nobel Prize
for pharmacology”.
The first ever Prix Galien was awarded in 1970 to CIBA for its antibiotic
Rimactane. In 2002 and 2003, Gleevec/Glivec received the Prix Galien a
total of 10 times, including the Prix Galien International for therapeutic
innovation (2002). Between 1970 and 2013, the Prix Galien was awarded
to Novartis 34 times (including once to Chiron).
Year
Award-winning drugs
Origin
Number of
Prix Galien
awarded
1970
Rimactane
CIBA
1978
Parlodel Sandoz1
1984 | 1986 | 1992
Sandimmune
Sandoz4
1991
Sandostatin Sandoz
1999
Simulect
Novartis1
2001
Visudyne Novartis2
2002
Zometa
Novartis1
2002 | 2003
Gleevec / Glivec
Novartis10
2004
Menveo
Chiron1
2006 | 2008
Xolair
Novartis2
2008
Exjade
Novartis1
2008 | 2013
Lucentis
Novartis2
2008
Coartem
Novartis1
2011
Ixiaro
Novartis1
2012
Gilenya
Novartis
2013 Bexsero Novartis1
1
2
3
173
Sources and Bibliography
Archive records
Novartis Company Archive, Geigy record group
GL 1–27 | Management Committee minutes
VR 1, VR 1/1–1/11 | Board minutes
Novartis Company Archive, CIBA record group
Vg 1.01 | Management Committee minutes
Vg 1.02.1 | Internal Reports
VR 1 | Board Minutes
Novartis Company Archive, Sandoz record group
C-101.001 | Management reports and reports to the Board of Directors
C-102.001 | Board Minutes
C-304.001 | Management Minutes
H-433.001–015 | Pharmaceutical specialties: sales, statistics
Novartis Company Archive, Ciba-Geigy record group
KL 1 | Group Management Committee minutes
VR 1 | Board minutes
Published sources
J. R. Geigy A.G. Annual Report 1946–1969
Unsere Arbeit und wir or Geigy company newspaper 1943–1970
Statement of Account of the Gesellschaft für chemische Industrie in Basel 1885–1944
Statement of Account or Annual Report of CIBA AG 1945–1969
CIBA-Blätter 1943–1970
Report and Statement of Account of Chemische Fabrik vormals Sandoz 1912–1938
Report and Statement of Account of Sandoz AG 1939–1989
Sandoz AG Annual Report 1990–1995
Sandoz Bulletin 1965–1996
Ciba-Geigy AG Annual Report 1970–1991
Ciba Annual Report 1992
Ciba Abbreviated Report 1993–1995
Ciba-Geigy Zeitung or Ciba Zeitung 1970–1996
Novartis Business Overview 1996–2000
Financial Report of Novartis 1996–2000
Novartis Group Annual Report 2001–2011
Novartis live or live 1996–2011
174
Bibliography
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Bürgin, Alfred Geschichte des Geigy-Unternehmens von 1758 bis 1939. Ein Beitrag zur Basler Unternehmer- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte. Basel 1958.
Dettwiler, Walter A Short History of the St. Johann Works, in: Novartis Campus: a contemporary
work environment premises, elements, perspectives. Ostfildern (Germany) 2009, pp. 44–55.
Fritz, Hans Industrielle Arzneimittelherstellung. Die pharmazeutische Industrie in Basel am Beispiel der Sandoz AG (Heidelberger Schriften zur Pharmazie- und Naturwissenschaftsgeschichte,
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175
Index
A
Aarau 24
Acetylsalicylic acid 122
Aeschlimann, Roland 118
Agomensin 55, 74
Airwick Industries (company) 126
Alcon (company) 148, 149, 158
Alexander, Robert D. 148
Alsace 12, 30
ALZA Corporation (company) 134
American Society of Pharmacognosy 88
American-Swiss Association 110
Amritsar 26
Anafranil 120
Ando, Tadao 168
Androsterone 74
Androstin 55, 74
Angiotensin 160
Aniline 10, 11, 14, 18, 20, 22, 30, 31, 46
Aniline blue 18
Aniline red 10, 14
Antipyrine 14, 32
Appel, François (printers) 24
Archaeologists of Basel City 168
Ardsley 99, 104
Argentina 56, 62, 98, 138
Arnhem 134
Artemether 92
Artemisia 92, 94
Artemisinin 92
Aspirin 122
AstraZeneca (company) 147
Athens 134
Atlanta 31, 130, 136
Australia 98, 116
Austria 99, 106, 108, 122, 130, 166, 168
Azalein 11
Azathioprine 140
B
Baden (Germany) 12
Baden (Switzerland) 88
Baldeweg, Juan Navarro 168
Bangkok 132
Bangladesh 136
Barcelona 102, 158
Barger, George 50
Basel 5, 6, 10–12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 30–33, 36, 38, 40, 44, 46, 48, 54, 56, 58, 60, 64, 66, 68,
74, 78, 82–84, 86, 88, 98–100, 106, 108, 110, 114, 116, 126, 127, 130, 132, 134, 138, 146–148, 150,
152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 163, 166, 168
Basel gasworks (company) 12
Basel General Vocational School 116
Basildon 106
Basler Chemische Fabrik (company) 10, 14, 33
Basler IG 54, 99
Bayer (company) 64, 122
Behring (company) 158, 164
Belgium 56, 60, 173
Bellergal 50
Benazepril hydrochloride 154
Bergamo 54, 58
Berlin 45, 48, 84, 168
176
Bern 32, 82, 99, 108, 150
Bexsero 164, 165, 173
Biesele, Igildo 118
Binaca 62
Bindschedler & Busch (company) 10, 14, 16, 20, 26, 46
Bindschedler, Robert 10, 14, 32
Biochemie GmbH (company) 99
Biocine (company) 128
Birsfelden 30
Bischoff, W. 88
Blühdorn, Kurt 76
Bohny, Fritz 56
Boltingen 82
Bombay (Mumbai) 24, 66
Böniger, Melchior 44, 48
Böniger-Ris, Ida 48
Boston 31, 168
Bradford 31
Brazil 56, 86, 104
Brodtbeck, Wilhelm 56
Bromocriptine 50
Brown, Boveri & Cie. (company) 88
Brussels 60
Buenos Aires 62, 138
Bülach 20
Burckhardt, Jacqueline 166
Busch, Albert 10, 14
Butazolidin 122
C
Cabo Ruivo 132
Cafergot 50
Caffeine 64
Calcium chloride 76
Calcium gluconate 76
Calcium-Sandoz 56, 60, 68, 76, 78
Calcutta 24
California 84, 90, 128, 146
Cambridge 6, 148, 156
Canada 31, 56, 90, 92, 98, 99, 114, 116, 130, 173
Caracas 150
Carbamazepine 142
Carlstadt 126
Carr, Francis Howard 50
Centre de Recherche Santé Animale 154
Charlotte 64
Chemische Fabrik Griesheim-Elektron (company) 31
Chemische Fabrik Karl Oehler (company) 20, 46
Chernobyl 127
Chicago 64
Chile 98, 134
China 26, 44, 56, 76, 94, 156, 160, 166
Chipperfield, David 168
Chiron (company) 128, 148, 164, 165, 173
Chlorimipramine 120
Chlorophyll 45
Chloroquine 92
Chlorpromazine 120
Cholesterol 74
Ciba (company) 110, 128, 129, 136, 138, 146, 150, 166
CIBA (company) 5, 10–12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 30–34, 36, 38, 40, 44–46, 54–56, 58, 60, 62, 64,
66, 70, 72, 74, 75, 83, 84, 88, 90, 98–100, 102, 104, 106, 110, 112, 114, 138, 160, 173
177
Ciba Specialty Chemicals (company) 146
CIBA Vision (company) 130, 136, 149
Cibacen 154, 160
Ciba-Geigy (company) 5, 100, 110, 120, 122, 126–128, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 143, 148, 160, 162
Cinchona 92
Cincinnati 54, 58
Clariant (company) 128
Clavel, Alexandre 10, 11, 14, 20
Clayton (Manchester) 31, 36
Clayton Aniline Company Ltd. (company) 31, 36
Coagulen 55
Coartem 92, 173
Codeine 33
Colombia 98
Conner, William C. 148
Cooper Vision Surgical (company) 149
Copenhagen 90, 104
Coramin 60
Cork 136
Cozaar 160
Cuba 98
Cyclosporine 140
Czechoslovakia 56, 66
D
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) 83, 86, 88, 92
Delhi 26
Denmark 90, 104, 143
Deseril 50
Dial 55
Diclofenac 122
Diener, Roger 166
Digifolin 55, 58
Dihydergot 50, 88
Dihydroergotamine 88
Diovan 148, 160, 161
Dollfus, Gaspard 11, 12, 20
Dopamine 50, 83
Dorval 114, 130
Dresden 122
Du Pont (company) 160
Durand & Huguenin (company) 11, 12, 20, 22, 30, 32, 99
Durand, Louis 11, 12, 20, 30
E
East Hanover 6, 88, 90, 99, 138
Eckenstein, Ernst 56
economiesuisse 84, 110
Eden 147
Elberfeld (Wuppertal) 122
Elbon 70
Energy Excellence Award 156
Eon Labs (company) 148
Ergot 45, 48, 50, 76, 83, 88, 140
Ergotamine 45, 50
Ergotinine 50
Ergotoxin 50
Estraderm TTS 134
Estradiol 74, 75
Estrone 74
Etablissements A. Poirier et G. Dalsace (company) 22
EU 143, 161, 163, 165
178
Eurax 116
European Medicines Agency (EMA) 160
Exelon 152
Exjade 152, 173
F
Federal Institute for Intellectual Property 45
Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich 32, 36, 74, 75, 110
Federal Polytechnic Institute, Zurich 14, 20, 32, 36, 45, 46, 48
Federle, Helmut 166
Ferrari (make of car) 132
Filipstad 132
Finland 98
Fletcher, Alan 166
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 160
Fort Worth 148, 158
Fortekor 154
France 10–12, 14, 20, 30, 40, 44, 56, 60, 82, 136, 168, 173
Frankfurt am Main 50
Fribourg 110, 136, 150
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) 100, 156
FTY720 158
Fuchsine 10, 11, 14, 30
Fulda, Heinrich 38
G
Galen 173
Galvus 152
Gebrüder Lips (printers) 26
Gehry, Frank O. 168
Geigy or J. R. Geigy AG (company) 5, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 38, 40, 44, 46,
48, 54, 58, 62, 66, 82–84, 86, 88, 92, 99, 100, 102, 104, 108, 110, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 142
Geigy, Hieronymus 92
Geigy-Gemuseus, Johann Rudolf 16
Geigy-Merian, Johann Rudolf 11, 18
Genetic Therapy (company) 128
Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation 146
Georg, German 36
Georgia 130, 136
Gerber & Uhlmann (company) 11
Gerber (business) 128, 147, 148
Gerber, Armand 11
Gerber-Keller, Jean 11
Gerhardt, Charles Frédéric 122
Germany 12, 20, 30–32, 34, 36, 44–46, 48, 50, 55, 56, 82, 84, 102, 106, 110, 122, 130, 138, 152,
158, 160, 164, 168, 173
Gerstner, Karl 118
Gesarol 83, 86
Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie in Basel (company) 10, 14
Giessen 20
Gilenya 6, 158, 173
Gleevec/Glivec 6, 147, 162, 163, 173
Gnehm, Robert 44–46
Goregaon 99, 104
Greece 92, 122, 134, 173
Greensboro 138
Grenzach 30, 34, 138
Gynergen 45, 48, 50
H
Hamburg 110
Heidelberg 36
179
Heparin-Dihydergot 50
Herzog & de Meuron (architects) 168
Hexal (company) 148
Hiltbold (Master) 40
Hippocrates of Kos 122
His, Andreas 116
His-Veillon, Albert 55
Hoechst (company) 14, 32
Hoffmann-La Roche (company) 33, 100
Hoffmann-La Roche, Fritz 33
Hofmann, Albert 83, 88
Hollenweger, Heinrich 36
Honegger, Gottfried 116, 118
Hong Kong 24, 26, 88
Horsham 102, 154
Hospitalet 102
Huguenin, Daniel Edouard 12, 20, 30
Hüningen 30
Hydergin 50, 88
I
IG Farben (company) 54
Ilford (company) 106
Imipramine 120
India 24, 26, 40, 66, 98, 99, 104, 168
Indomethacin 122
Inselspital Bern 150
Institute for the World Economy and Maritime Traffic, Kiel 110
Interferon 134, 162
Interleukin-1 beta 134
International Chamber of Commerce 94
Iran 130
Ireland 98, 136
Irgapyrine 118
Isando 136
Istanbul 130
Italy 33, 44, 54, 56, 58, 82, 90, 92, 112, 116, 136, 138, 148, 168, 173
Ixiaro 173
J
Japan 24, 26, 38, 44, 56, 70, 98, 112, 122, 127, 138, 158, 168
Jenner, Edward 164
Jimenez, Joseph 150
J. J. Müller & Cie. (company) 11, 18
John J. Keller & Co. (company) 34
John Valentine (company) 126
K
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Chemistry in Berlin-Dahlem 48
Käppeli, Robert 110
Karavayevka 31, 34, 40
Katayama, Toshihiro 118
Kekulé, Friedrich August 32
Kemps Creek 134
Kenya 94
Kern, Alfred 12, 20, 22, 32, 46
Kern & Sandoz, Chemische Fabrik Kern & Sandoz or Chemische Fabrik vormals Sandoz
(company) 12, 20, 22
Kiel 110
Kleinhüningen 10
Knecht, Oskar 22, 38
Kobe 24
180
Koch, Robert 164
Koechlin-Iselin, Carl 34
Koechlin-Ryhiner, Hartmann 88
Koechlin-Vischer, Carl 82, 84
Krauer, Alex 128, 138, 146
Krischanitz, Adolf 168
Kuhn, Roland 120
Kundl 99, 108, 130
L
La Jolla 146
Laborit, Henri 120
Lampugnani, Vittorio Magnago 166, 168
Latvia 31
Lek (company) 148
Lesser Basel 10, 11
Liebig (company) 24
Liepāja 31
Lima 108
Lipojodin 55, 60
Lisbon 114, 132
Locarno 158
Locock, Charles 142
Lodz 31
London 10, 11, 138, 168
London School of Economics 138
Lonitzer, Adam 50
Los Angeles 90, 168
Losartan 160
Lotensin 160
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) 83, 88
Lucentis 173
Lucerne 110
Ludiomil 120
Lumefantrine 92
Lutocyclin 55, 75
Luxembourg 173
Lyon 10, 11, 14, 20, 30, 40, 60
Lysergic acid 83
M
Madrid 168
Maki, Fumihiko 168
Manchester 31, 36, 62, 108
Manila 134
Maprotiline 120
Marburg 158, 164
Marcel Benoist Prize 48
Märkli, Peter 166
Maromme 30
Massachusetts 6, 148, 156
Mauveine 10
MBT (company) 127, 146
McKinsey (company) 126
Mehrotra, Rahul 168
Melleril 108
Ménières 136
Menjugate 164
Menveo 164, 173
Merck (company) 64, 122, 160
Methylphenidate 112
Mettler Toledo (company) 146
181
Mexico 98, 102
Mexico City 102
Meyer, Victor 36
Miescher, Friedrich 100
Milan 33, 90, 112, 168
Mitin 116
Mohn-Imobersteg, Heinrich 18
Moneo, Rafael 168
Montgomery, Bernard Law 88
Monthey 11
Moret, Marc 128, 136
Morocco 98
Moscow 18, 31, 40
Müller & Trüb (printers) 24
Müller, Paul Hermann 83, 86, 88
Müller-Pack, Johann Jakob 11, 18
Mumbai (Bombay) 24, 26, 66, 99, 104, 168
Munich 45, 48
Münsterlingen Cantonal Hospital 120
Muttenz 30
Myfortic 158
N
Nehru, Jawaharlal 104
Nencki, Marceli 32
Neocid 83, 86
Neoral 140
Nestlé (company) 24, 136, 148, 149
Netherlands 44, 98, 127, 134, 173
Neuchâtel 84
New Jersey 6, 31, 84, 88, 90, 99, 126, 138
New York 31, 33, 34, 62, 83, 84, 86, 99, 104, 152
New Zealand 98
Nidfurn 48
Nishizawa, Ryue 166
Nitroderm TTS 134
Nobel Prize 45, 86, 173
North Carolina 64, 138
Norway 140
Novartis (company) 5, 6, 44, 92, 94, 110, 122, 136, 138, 146–150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 163–166, 168, 173
Novartis Campus 6, 148, 166, 168, 169
Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development 94, 148
Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) 94, 148, 156
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) 148
Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health 148
Nuremberg 106, 130
Nyon 152, 158
O
Offenbach 20, 46
Optalidon 64
Organon (company) 75
Origgio 112, 136
Osaka 26, 70, 112, 168
Oswald, Rosine Henriette 14
Otrivin 158
Ovaltine/Ovomaltine 108, 132, 148
Ovocyclin 55, 74, 75
Oxcarbazepine 143
182
P
Pabianice 31, 36, 38
Pakistan 98
Paracelsus 76
Paris 18, 22, 24, 33, 136, 138, 168
Parlodel/Pravidel 50, 173
Pasteur, Louis 164
Paterson 84
Paul Karrer Medal 48
Perandren 55, 74, 75
Percorten 55, 74, 75
Perkin, William Henry 10
Peru 98, 108
Petersen & Sichler (company) 20
Phenobarbital 142
Phenylbutazone 122
Philadelphia 31, 64, 162
Philippines 98, 134
Phosgene 20
Planta, Louis von 100, 110, 128
Poland 31, 36, 38
Portland 62
Porto 102, 168
Port-of-Spain 150
Portugal 56, 98, 102, 114, 132, 168, 173
Potassium bromide 142
Prague 66
Princeton University 118
Prix Galien 173
Progesterone 74, 75
Prokliman 55, 74
Prolactin 50
Providence 31
Prussian blue 127
Psilocybin 88
Putman, Andrée 166
Pyramidon 64
Q
Quinine 10, 92
R
Radebeul 122
Raillard, Alfred 38
Ranbir Singh 26
Red Cross 88
Reichstein, Tadeusz 75
Reinhardt, Joerg 5, 150
Renard frères et Franc (company) 10, 11
Renard, Joseph 14
Rimactane 173
Ringaskiddy 136
Rio de Janeiro 86, 104
Ritalin 112
Rockefeller Institute in New York 83
Rouen 30
Rudin, Nelly 118
Rudin, René 116
Rueil-Malmaison 136
Runge, Friedlieb Ferdinand 10
Russia 5, 18, 30, 31, 34, 36, 38, 40, 158
Ružička, Leopold 74
183
S
S.A. Española de Colorantes Sintéticos (company) 102
Sabin, Albert Bruce 164
Saccharine 33
Saint-Aubin 154
Saint-Denis 22
Saint-Fons 30, 40, 60
Salen 33, 38
Salicin 122
Salicylic acid 122
Salicylic acid factory Dr. F. von Heyden (company) 122
Salk, Jonas Edward 164
Salol 32
San Francisco 84
SANAA (architects) 166
Sandimmune 140, 147, 173
Sandmeyer, Traugott 36
Sandoptal 64
Sandostatin 173
Sandoz (company) 5, 12, 14, 22, 24, 26, 31, 32, 38, 44–46, 48, 50, 54–56, 58, 62, 64, 66, 68, 76, 78,
82–84, 86, 88, 90, 98–100, 102, 106, 108, 110, 114, 126–130, 132, 136, 138, 140, 146, 148, 150, 160,
166, 173
Sandoz Research Institute, Vienna 99, 106
Sandoz, Edouard-Constant 12, 20, 22, 76
Sänger, Walter 40
Santiago de Chile 134
Schinznach-Dorf 48
Schmid, Max 118
Schulz, Andreas 166
Schwanden 46
Schwarzenmatt AG (company) 82
Schweikert & Froelich (company) 31
Schweizerhalle 20, 88, 108, 127
Scopoderm TTS 134
Sejima, Kazuyo 166
Seriate 54, 58
Serotonin 83
Serra, Marco 166
Serra, Richard 168
Shanghai 6, 24, 26, 72, 148, 156
Siena 148
Simulect 173
Singapore 94, 148, 156
Sirolin 33
Sistomensin 55, 74
Siza, Alvaro 168
Slovenia 148
Société de la Fuchsine (company) 11, 20
South Africa 136
Souto de Moura, Eduardo 168
Soviet Union 44
Spain 44, 48, 56, 102, 116, 158, 168, 173
Steele, Fritz 166
Stein 102, 154, 162
Stein am Rhein 46
Sterosan 118
Stockholm 86
Stoecklin, Niklaus 62
Stoll, Arthur 45, 48, 50, 55, 76, 83
Summit 84, 99
Sweden 86, 98, 132, 147
Swiss Federation of Trade and Industry 84, 110
184
Swiss Radio DRS 128
Switzerland 5, 11, 14, 20, 24, 30, 32, 36, 44–46, 48, 50, 54, 74, 82, 84, 88, 98–100, 102, 108, 110,
120, 122, 127, 128, 132, 136, 138, 142, 150, 152, 154, 158, 162, 163, 173
Sydney 134
Syngenta (company) 147, 166
Szeemann, Harald 166
T
Takarazuka 138
Taniguchi, Yoshio 168
Tanret, Charles 50
Tanzania 94
Tasigna 163
Tegretol 142, 143
Tehran 130
Testosterone 74, 75
Texas 148, 158
Thailand 132
Tofranil 120
Tokyo 166, 168
Tongi 136
Toronto 31, 90
Trasicor 160
Trileptal 142, 143
Trinidad and Tobago 150
Troller, Fred 116, 118
Turkey 130
U
UK 30, 31, 36, 44, 54, 56, 62, 102, 106, 108, 116, 142, 154, 173
Ukraine 127
UN Global Compact 148
Ungerer, Tomi 120
United Nations 94
University of Basel 110, 138, 150
University of Bern 150
University of Fribourg 110
University of Giessen 20
University of Heidelberg 36
University of Paris 138
University of Pennsylvania 162
University of Zurich 14, 48, 88
Uruguay 98
USA 6, 31, 34, 44, 54, 56, 58, 62, 64, 83, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 98–100, 104, 116, 118, 122, 126–128,
130, 134, 136, 138, 143, 146–150, 156, 158, 160–164, 166, 168, 173
V
Valsartan 160
Vasella, Daniel 146, 150, 163, 166
Venezuela 98, 150
Verguin, Emanuel 10, 11
Veronal 64
Vienna 99, 106, 166, 168
Vioform 33, 34
Virchow, Rudolf 162
Vischer, Johann Jakob 100
Visken 160
Visudyne 173
Vitamin C 76
Voegeli, Kaspar 22
Vogt, Günther 166, 168
Voltaren 122, 147
185
W
Walder, Emil 22
Walker, Peter 166, 168
Wander (company) 99, 108
Warburg Bank (company) 110
Wasa (company) 132, 147
Wehr 102, 152, 160
Wettingen 36
Wettstein, Albert 74
Wiederin, Gerold 166
Willow bark 122
Willstätter, Richard 45, 48
Winterthur 14, 24
Wislicenus, Johannes 20
Witterswil 132
World Business and Development Award 94
World Health Organization (WHO) 92, 164
Wuppertal 122
X
Xolair 173
Y
Yokohama 26
Yorkshire 31
Z
Zehnder, E. 34
Zometa 152, 173
Zurich 14, 20, 32, 36, 45, 46, 48, 62, 74, 75, 88, 110, 120, 166, 168
186
Photo credits
Most of the pictorial material is from the Novartis Company Archive.
Other photographs were supplied by: Museum für Gestaltung Zurich (graphics collection), Novartis
Brand Service, Novartis Malaria Initiative, Novartis Public Relations Switzerland.
Angelus Com’l Studio, Portland (USA) page 63: top left
G. L. Arlaud, Lyon (France) page 61: top left
Arless Photographers, Dorval (Canada) page 131: top, second from left
Foto Ascher, Wörgl (Austria) page 131: top, first left
Mitter Bedi Industrial Photographer, Mumbai (India) page 104: 061
W. A. Bernet, Sandoz Nuremberg (Germany) page 130: top
Bror Bernild, Copenhagen (Denmark) page 91: top right
BM-Bild, Stockholm (Sweden) page 86: 052
Maurice Broomfield, London page 107: 065
Howard Brundrett, Basel page 150: 090; page 152: 093; page 155: top center and top right;
page 161: 2
Fotografia Industrial Centelles, Barcelona (Spain) page 103: top center
Disdéri & Cie., Paris (André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri) page 18: 005
Atelier Eidenbenz, Basel page 59: top center; page 87: top center
Photo L’Épi, F. Devolder, Brussels (Belgium) page 61: top right
Fairchild Aerial Surveys Inc., New York page 85: 050
Christian Flierl, Basel page 155: 097 and top left
Photo Grignon, Chicago page 65: top center
René Groebli, Zurich page 115: top left and top center
Otto Gyssler, Geigy Basel page 109: top, second from left
Hamilton Studios, Mumbai (India) page 67: top right
Peter Heman, Basel page 106: top; page 107: top left
August Höflinger, Basel page 21: 009; page 22: 010
Jakob Höflinger, Basel page 17: 004
Carl Hoffmann, Basel page 67: top left
Theodor Carl Hoffmann, Basel page 47: top center and top right
Kaufmann & Mory, Chicago page 65: 039
Carl Kling, Basel page 36: 015
Christian Küenzi, Kilchberg (Switzerland) page 131: top, first and second from right
Mathias Leemann, Basel page 137: 086; page 139: 088 and 089; page 141: 1 and 2; page 151: 091;
page 153: top left; page 163: 1 and 2
Leitner, Biochemie Kundl (Austria) page 109: 069
Johannes Marburg, Geneva (Switzerland) page 169: 5
Ju. Mebius, Moscow (Russia) page 19: top right
Moeschlin + Baur, Basel page 115: top right
Pierre Moilliet, Geigy Basel page 93: 1
Finbarr O’Connell, Cork (Ireland) page 136: 085
Mario Perotti, Milan (Italy) page 91: 058
William A. Roberts Film Co., Greensboro (USA) page 64: 038
Claire Roessiger, Basel page 65: top left; page 69: top; page 79: 4 and 5; page 88: 054
Umberto Romito © ZHdK, Zurich page 117: 1 to 3; page 119: 4 to 6
Armin Roth, Basel page 19: 006; page 34: 012 and 013; page 48: 025; page 49: 026; page 51: 2;
page 58: 028; page 60: 031 and 032; page 64: 037; page 70: 044; page 75: 2 to 5; page 77: 1 and 2;
page 86: 051; page 108: 066 to 068; page 112: 073; page 123: 2; page 134: 082; page 141: 3;
page 152: 092; page 154: 095; page 158: 101 and 102
Lukas Roth, Cologne (Germany) page 169: 4
Camille Ruf, Zurich page 46: 023
Antonio Santos d’Almeida, Lisbon (Portugal) page 114: 076
Schou-Jo, illustration og teknisk fotografi, Copenhagen (Denmark) page 105: top
Scott-d’Arazien, New York page 113: top center and top right
Josepho Shick, Shanghai (Anatol M. Josephewitz) page 73: 048 and top
Sives-Baffo, Milan (Italy) page 112: 074; page 113: 075
Robert Spreng, Basel page 87: top left
E. Stehle, Sandoz Basel page 68: 042; page 69: 043
Rémy Steinegger, Vaglio (Switzerland) page 159: top, second from left
Ezra Stoller, New York page 105: 062 and 063
Roland Tännler, Zurich page 157: top left
188
Tangram Partner, Basel page 159: top, second from right
Albert Teichmann, Basel page 59: top left and top right; page 61: 033; page 66: 040;
page 67: 041
Mark Tuschman, Menlo Park (USA), for Novartis AG page 95: 2 and 3
Laurence Voumard, Cologne (Germany) page 158: top; page 165: 1
Patrick Wack, Shanghai, Beijing (China) page 156: 098
Ruedi Walti, Basel fold-out
Roman Weyeneth, Basel page 154: 096
Fritz Wüthrich, CIBA Basel page 16: top; page 17: top
Guillermo Zamora, Mexico City page 102: 059 and top right
Harf Zimmermann, Berlin (Germany) page 167: 2
All reasonable efforts have been made to contact copyright holders and clear permission to
reproduce illustrations. Any errors or omissions are unintentional and will be corrected in future
printings following notification in writing to the publisher.
189
With special thanks to
Matthias Leuenberger
Claudio Beccarelli
Ursula Bucher-Herz
Marcel Hugener
Stephen Paul Lander
Romeo Paioni
Frank Petersen
Michael Plüss
Wolfdietrich Schutz
All product names in italics are trademarks owned by or licensed to Novartis Group Companies.
First published in this English-language translation in 2014 by
Profile Books Ltd
3a Exmouth House
Pine Street
London EC1R 0JH
www.profilebooks.com
Copyright © 2014 Novartis International AG, Basel
The moral right of the authors has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the
prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 78125 265 9
eISBN 978 1 78283 074 0
Design Focus Grafik, Karin Rütsche, Basel, Switzerland
Repro Bildpunkt AG, Münchenstein, Switzerland
Printed by Heer Druck AG, Sulgen, Switzerland, on Profibulk 135gm2
Bound by Buchbinderei Burkhardt AG, Mönchaltorf, Switzerland